Swiped!

What is known as the clonación of credit and debit cards is on the increase in Tijuana, according to law enforcement authorities. The term refers to the theft of data that occurs during the use of a credit or debit card, most usually via a rigged ATM.

In the past two months, three times as many cases than usual have been reported. Typically, ATMs at convenience stores and other commercial enterprises are chosen by identity thieves. The perpetrators install a device over the card reader in order to record data that can be used to gain access to accounts.

As reported by Tijuana’s Frontera newspaper, Mexican investigators suspect that some owners of businesses have been operating in collusion with identity thieves.