Credit Card Cloning Scheme Busted

The Secret Service is looking into a credit card fraud scheme that they say was busted in an Oak Creek motel.

Oak Creek Police arrested two men for "credit card cloning." The credit card cloning was discovered right here inside the Red Roof Inn Hotel.

The front of the cards had the accused thieves names on it, but the cards actually linked back to victims bank accounts.

It all started when police responded to the Red Roof Inn because of a complaint. But once inside the room of Bradley Beauge and James Pierre they found  "numerous cards" with the same name, and then found a "credit card cloning device."

Paul Hager with Information Technology Professionals says, "Cloners or carders go about purchasing card numbers they usually do this on the dark web or the deep web."

Paul Hager with Information Technology Professionals explained that many criminals use the "dark web" to buy credit information in bundles.

 "This is a separate internet or from the internet that most people are browsing."

He says once the two suspects get the information, they used a card writer to put the stolen credit information onto a card with their name on the front.

Hager says, "It's the same reader you use when you make a purchase they can write that data onto a magnetic strip."

The card writer is only about $150 and isn't illegal. Many companies use credit writers to encode gift card amounts onto the magnetic strip on the back of the card. But in this case criminals encoded bank info onto a card with their name.

"It says the person's name on the front so what actually goes into the system is the name and information out of a valid credit card held by someone else."

Hager says where many criminals go wrong is they make purchases to and address. In this case the men bought iPads and kept them at the Ted Roof Inn.

"That purchase has a history, that purchase history has a tracking number, the tracking number is linked to an address and that address can ultimately be tracked back."

In the end Bradley Beauge and James Pierre were tracked, booked, charged for identity theft.

Our expert says the new credit card chip should help stop credit cloning schemes like the one we just told you about-because it doesn't just replicate data, it links directly to the credit company.