A thief with the Terminal POS? Here are the in bold pocket theft of the latest generation

Pocket stolen 2.0 – this is how a new phenomenon in crime has been called in Italy, which reaches and this country. A thief with a payment terminal for contactless transactions was detained in Sorrento in the south. She approached tourists with the device and brought them closer to their pockets and bags where they had cards.

A woman suspected of dozens of such thefts in Sorrento and Rome made small proximity transactions that did not require the introduction of PIN and robbed unaware of foreign tourists from money on their cards – explained in the MediaSet television information program.

As indicated in the television relationship, The disclosed situations resemble scenes from the science-fiction movie. Carabiniers who detained a 36-year-old woman already known to the police, during the search of her bag, found the POS terminal used by shop owners, restaurants, service points and taxi drivers. He was registered on a substituted person, a thief's partner.

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In the course of the investigation, it was established that She approached foreign tourists primarily and brought the payment terminal to their pockets and bags at a distance of several centimeters.

Using NFC technology, i.e. short -range wireless communication, enabling the transmission of data between devices close to each other, the woman made small transactions, usually up to 50 euros, connecting to the payment cards of her victims. The sound signal that appears at the time of the transaction was most often drowned out by noise in crowded places.

This means, emphasized, opening a new front with street theft and in means of communication.

At the same time, the new phenomenon has reassured that it is not easy to rob someone with this method. The thief must introduce to the terminal the amount he wants to steal, and the time to make the transaction is about 30 seconds. NFC technology works up to 2 centimeters. Payment cards are usually protected e.g. by thick wallets or pockets of bags.

From Rome Sylwia Wysocka (PAP)

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