Ruby Alamsyah Says

Ruby Alamsyah, Bali Police say they have identified the equipment used to steal ATM card information from consumers there.

“I have found the device. I will demonstrate the device which is used to copy ATM cards and rob the account,” Denpasar Police chief Sr. Comsr. Gede Alit Widana told detik.com on Thursday.

The syndicate, according to Gede, installed the device on the ATM slot and placed a tiny camera nearby. Any transactions taking place on the ATM were monitored and recorded by a laptop from a nearby location.

“We will invite bank directors in Bali and demonstrate the device in front of them so they know the syndicate's modus operandi and how to anticipate it,” he said.

A specialist in Forensic Information Technology, Ruby Z Alamsyah, said the ATM scam is known as “skimming.”

Ruby helped the Jakarta Police capture a syndicate that had operated in the city since 2007. He told kompas.com he believed the Bali syndicate was related to the one in Jakarta.

“In October 2009, the Jakarta police arrested seven local perpetrators but they're only the operatives, because the masterminds are two Russians in a foreign country,” he said. The police had located the leaders of the syndicate, he added, but they were unable to arrest them due to difficulties in extraditing them.

“We discussed the case with the National Police and Jakarta Police and we are convinced the crime was conducted by the same syndicate,” he said.

Ruby suspected that the Bali skimmers drained their victims' accounts because they planned to escape overseas as soon as possible.

“Usually, the perpetrators only take a small amount so that the victims are not aware of it. Sometimes they even use a ratio system. For example, from a Rp 100 million account they will take Rp 10 million. If the account is Rp 10 million they will take Rp 500 thousand,” he explained.