Inp.polri.go.id - Denpasar. The Directorate of Special Criminal Investigation for the Bali Regional Police arrested suspects in the crime of theft of 1,293 card data from other people (carding), MA (41), from Jakarta for buying and selling hotel and plane tickets at low prices.
"The mode of operation is that the perpetrator is a user of other people's credit card data purchased on the dark web and is used to make reservations or purchase hotel vouchers, airplane tickets through the Airbnb application or booking.com and applications in Apple's App Store which are not his rights," said the Chief of Public Relations Department of Bali Regional Police, Police Senior Superintendent Jansen Avitus Panjaitan in Denpasar, Bali, Friday (28/7/2023).
He explained that the disclosure of this case began with the Bali Regional Police's Cybercrime Team which carried out cyber patrols and found an Instagram social media account in the name of Ratdiba promoting hotel or villa bookings and airplane tickets with the words "AlI Hotel & Villa disc 30-50%" or below market price.
After conducting a search, the Instagram social media account in the name of Ratdiba allegedly belonged to a woman with the initials RN, MA's girlfriend. The team then found RN and MA in Bali.
During interrogation, RN said that she only helped MA to advertise hotel or villa reservations and plane tickets. But she did not know where the voucher was obtained.
According to MA's statement, the vouchers were obtained from promos at various travel agents. Feeling odd, the Bali Regional Police Cyber Team checked MA's laptop and found 1,293 credit card data belonging to other people from various banks that had been hacked.
"MA's acknowledgment, 1,293 credit card data were obtained by buying on dark web sites, with an average credit card price of 20 USD, which is paid using Crypto Currency," said Police Senior Superintendent Jansen Avitus Panjaitan.
According to MA's statement, credit cards belonging to other people were used to buy hotel vouchers and airplane tickets at lower prices for people who searched by reading the promoted website.
To get cash quickly, these vouchers are then resold by MA at a discount of 30 to 50 percent through the Airbnb application or booking.com and the Application in Apple's App Store.
The evidence secured from the suspect included an Apple laptop, an Apple smartphone, namely the iPhone 11, iPhone 14, several dark web accounts, BCA Mobile, and a Mini Cooper car.
Currently, the suspect MA is being detained at the Bali Regional Police Detention Center and is being charged under Article 32 paragraph (1) in conjunction with Article 48 paragraph (1) of Law Number 19 of 2016 concerning Amendments to Law Number 11 of 2008 concerning Information and Electronic Transactions with threats eight years in prison.
Police Senior Superintendent Jansen appealed to people who use credit cards to be careful in transactions and for security to check regularly with the official bank that issued the credit card.
"If there is a suspicious transaction beyond your knowledge, please report it to the Bali Police's Cyber Crime Sub-Directorate," concluded Kombes Pol. Jansen.
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