TWO North Vancouver men who used a scanning device to skim money from bank customers at Capilano Mall last summer may be part of a nation-wide scheme that has siphoned hundreds of thousands of dollars from people across Canada.
Calin Nicusor Nicula, 27, and Viorel Bratuva, 29, allegedly started collecting information from bankcards in July when they attached a magnetic reader and a pinhole camera to a freestanding ATM at the shopping centre. The devices, built to look like part of the machine and adhered with two-sided tape, recorded the card and PIN numbers of users as they withdrew money. The men then used that data to pilfer funds from the victims' accounts, according to investigators.
Police have not said how many individual were affected, but they put the take well into the thousands.
An investigation led Mounties to believe the incident may have been connected to a similar scams that took place in the Greater Toronto Area in the preceding months. It also bore the hallmarks of more recent operations in and near Calgary, leading investigators to conclude the men, whose whereabouts are unknown, may be operating in that area.
Across Canada, more than $500,000 has disappeared from customer accounts, according to police.
Nicula and Bratuva have both been charged with fraud over $5,000 and possession of instruments for credit card forgery.
North Vancouver RCMP have issued a warrant for their arrest. They are also wanted by police forces in Calgary and Toronto.
