Edmonton police said two men have been charged with fraud in connection to a credit card scam.
Police said in early June, officers learned two men were buying prepaid credit cards from a gas station in the area of 133 Street and 118 Avenue, using fraudulent credit card data.
EPS investigated, and determined the men had gone to the same gas station a number of times between May 25 and 28, and on June 1, buying more than $3,800 in prepaid Visa cards in that time.
It’s believed the men would buy between $300 and $800 in prepaid cards during each transaction – it’s alleged they would try to pay with a card that had a damaged magnetic strip, they would give other details to the store clerk, and that information was later found to be fraudulent.
Police said Paul Vincent Olimba, 33, and Phelip Jonahs Olimba, 31, are facing a total of 16 charges between them.
Paul is facing five counts each of fraud under $5,000, and unauthorized use of credit card data, and two counts of uttering a forged document. Phelip has been charged with two counts each of fraud under $5,000 and unauthorized use of credit card data.
Investigators believe other stores may have been hit by the same scam.
“We encourage store merchants to review their practices when it comes to verifying payment information for any financial transaction,” Const. Robert Pinter said in a statement.
Anyone with details on this fraud is asked to call the Edmonton Police Service non-emergency line at 780-423-4567 or #377 on a mobile phone.
Anonymous tips can be submitted to Crime Stoppers by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
