A 32-year-old man has been jailed after he admitted arriving in Cayman with card skimming equipment.
Magistrates’ Court heard that the man’s luggage was searched after his plane touched down in Grand Cayman and customs officers found electronic equipment and a variety of credit cards and other suspicious items were found hidden among his belongings.
Halid Yuksel Aptula, a Bulgarian national who travelled from the Dominican Republic to Jamaica to the Cayman Islands, was jailed for 18 weeks on Wednesday, July 22.
The minister responsible for security matters, Nickolas DaCosta, said the incident sent a “clear and unequivocal warning” to people who believed they could come to Cayman and steal from its people.
He told thieves, “You will be detected, arrested and brought before our courts. The Cayman Islands is not a soft target.”
Joint operation
Aptula was detained at the Owen Roberts International Airport in Grand Cayman on June 16.
Customs and Border Control worked with the Cayman police service and officials and said it reflected the level of cooperation between the two services in tackling financial and other crime on the islands.
Marlon Bodden, the CBC director, said, “This outcome demonstrates the vigilance, professionalism and commitment of our officers in identifying and intercepting individuals who may seek to use the Cayman Islands as a conduit for criminal activity.”
He added, “It also underscores the importance of strong collaboration among our law enforcement partners. I thank our colleagues at RCIPS for their valuable assistance throughout this investigation.
“CBC will continue to work closely with its partners to protect our borders, combat financial crime, and safeguard the Cayman Islands community.
Bankers’ warning
Cayman’s banking services organisation last year warned automated teller machine (ATM) users to be on the lookout for scams that could see their accounts raided after a near-50% jump in malware attacks in the region.
A Cayman Islands Bankers Association spokeswoman said, “We work closely with our member banks to ensure customers are regularly informed about how to recognize and avoid various forms of fraud – including how to identify signs of ATM tampering.
“We encourage the public to stay alert and report any suspicious activity directly to their bank without delay.”
She was speaking after fintech expert Dwayne Russell told an anti-fraud seminar organised by the Jamaica Bankers’ Association and the Jamaica Institute of Financial Services in Kingston that malware attacks on ATMs continued to rise across the Caribbean.
Russell, the managing director of Jamaican fintech firm MC Systems, appealed to the sector to take action, and highlighted that the Latin America and Caribbean regions had seen a 46% increase in malware attacks in the last six months.
Russell had told the meeting, “It hasn’t reached us yet, but we know it’s in the region. That’s why we’ve already started reinforcing our systems.”
Russell explained the attacks involve malicious software designed to compromise machines and allow crooks to steal cash or sensitive information.
Attacks can be mounted through a variety of methods, including physical access to the ATM, network infiltration or even remote exploitation.
Related Videos
