Costa Rican cops arrest four Canadians linked to cloned card scams

Agents of Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ) on Wednesday arrested four Canadian men allegedly involved in scams using cloned credit cards.

The suspects, whose ages range from 25 to 36, were detained in a vehicle at 1 p.m. near La Sabana Park, in western San José.

Inside the vehicle agents found 200 credit cards, $48,000 in cash and card-cloning devices.

The OIJ report indicates that officials from a state-owned bank detected suspicious cash withdrawals at ATMs with cards issued abroad. Some of the ATMs retained cards, allowing bank security staff to alert OIJ’s Fraud Section. Investigators began tracking the men last week.

The investigation led to ATMs in Escazú, Santa Ana, Tibás and downtown San José.

All of the apparent victims of the scam are Canadian citizens, and police believe the amount stolen is likely higher than the confiscated cash. 

The suspects were taken into custody, and police are reviewing their legal statuses in the country.