In early June of this year, police received information that two men were purchasing prepaid credit cards from a gas station in the area of 133 Street and 118 Avenue, with fraudulent credit card data.
Upon further investigation, police determined that two men had allegedly attended the gas station on multiple occasions between May 25-28, 2017 and on June 1, 2017, fraudulently purchasing over $3,800 in prepaid Visa gift cards.
Police believe the men would purchase anywhere from $300 to $800 in prepaid credit cards during a transaction. The men would then allegedly attempt to pay with a tampered payment card in which the magnetic stripe was damaged. Alternative credit card information would then be provided to the store clerk, which was later discovered to be fraudulent.
Paul Vincent Olimba, 33, is charged with fraud under $5,000 (x5), unauthorized use of credit card data (x5) and uttering a forged document (x2).
Phelip Jonahs Olimba, 31, is charged with fraud under $5,000 (x2) and unauthorized use of credit card data (x2).
“We believe other stores in the city may have been affected by this scam,” says Const. Robert Pinter of the EPS’ Northwest Division.
“We encourage store merchants to review their practices when it comes to verifying payment information for any financial transaction.”
Anyone with information about this fraud is asked to contact the Edmonton Police Service at 780-423-4567 or #377 from a mobile phone. Anonymous information can also be submitted to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online at www.tipsubmit.com/start.htm.