Wanted man caught in neighbouring St. Vincent

THE man wanted by police for a number of financial and cyber crimes was caught in St. Vincent, and preparations are being made to have him returned to Grenada for trial.

Alistair Stanislaus was already facing a number of other charges related to armed robberies when he apparently engaged in financial fraud using automatic banking machines. The accounts, police said, were cloned using card readers and the accused is believed to have removed thousands from various accounts.

Police believe that Stanislaus is not acting alone but is part of a financial international organised crime group. He is expected to be deported from St. Vincent because there is no legal documentation of him entering that country.

Following the publicising of the issue, the Grenada Bankers Association has issued a statement explaining that in recent months, some local as well as regional banks have become aware of fraudulent activities at some of their Automatic Banking Machines (ABMs).

The type of fraud, according to the statement, is known as “skimming” – a process whereby criminals manage to capture personal information from the magnetic strip on the back of customers’ credit and debit cards with the intention of later using the information to access customers’ accounts via ABM and other electronic channels including the Internet.

“The devices used can be smaller than a deck of cards and are often fastened in close proximity to or over the top of an ABM’s factory-installed card reader and or the door slots to the ABM rooms,” the GBA explained.

He added that skimming is a global issue and one which the Grenada Bankers Association and, by extension, the Regional Financial Services Industry, are working together to prevent.

Warning customers to be extremely cautious when using their debit/credit cards, the statement recommends that customers immediately contact their bank should their card become stuck in an ABM or if they notice any suspicious activity on their account.

“Additionally, we urge the public to select unique PINs and passwords for each banking card and to memorise these numbers rather than writing them down or sharing them with others. We further advise customers when using their cards, to cover the keypad with their other hand or lean in to block the view when entering their PIN so that their details are not captured by camera or by someone observing their actions,” said the statement. (LS)