Police in Marrakech have arrested a Bulgarian national for suspected bank card fraud. The suspect used special technology to copy bank card details at ATMs.
Rabat – The Moroccan General Directorate for National Security (DGSN) arrested the 32-year-old Bulgarian national on July 23, as he was withdrawing suspected stolen cash from an ATM in central Marrakech.
The Bulgarian national came to Morocco on a tourist visa and was arrested for suspected bank fraud, DGSN announced in a press release yesterday. According to DGSN, he was using special technology to copy the banking details from bank cards inserted into ATMs across Marrakech.
He then copied these details onto blank cards, which he then used to withdraw funds for his own use from other Moroccan ATMs.
DGSN carried out a search warrant on the man’s hotel room and seized a dozen blank bank cards, tools used to pirate bank card details, and IT equipment.
According to the press release, police also seized cash, suspected to have been withdrawn through the man’s illegal activities.
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The case is under investigation to determine the extent of the suspect’s criminal activities. Depending on how long the suspect had been operating, thousands of bank account details may be at risk.
According to March figures from the Moroccan Center for Interbank Transfers (CMI), Marrakech has 369 ATMs. Each ATM sees an average of 3859 withdrawal transactions per month.
