6 Calgarians charged in credit card scam involving Sports Select and Keno
Six Calgary residents have been charged in relation to a credit card scam involving Sports Select and Keno.
Raymond RCMP and the Western Canada Lottery Corporation collaborated to take over a series of crimes they called “manual transaction entry fraud” that took place in convenience stores in Raymond, Lethbridge, Vegreville, Two Hills and Sundre between Dec.31, 2023 and Feb.26, 2024.
The scam involved the suspects entering a store and ordering $5,000 in Sports Select and $1,000 in Keno cards, which is the maximum one person can purchase in a 24-hour period.
The suspects would ask for credit card payment and then see if the terminal would allow for manual entry. If it did, they would enter a memorized Mastercard number that didn’t match the number of the card they had in the store. The card number would go through, but since the physical card wasn’t in the store at the time of the transaction, it would eventually get reported by the card holder and returned by the bank at the expense of the retailer – but several weeks would go by before the charges would be reversed.
Meanwhile, the suspects, knowing the store accepted manual entry, would continue to use the tactic to buy gift cards, prepaid credit cards and scratch-and-win tickets.
The impacted retailers acknowledged that it was unusual, but continued to allow the transactions until they were contacted by the Western Canada Lottery Corporation with questions about the transactions.
On March 19, a crime reduction unit team executed a search warrant on the 2000 block of 34 Street S.W. in Calgary. As a result, two Calgary residents were charged with fraud over $5,000, possession of or trafficking in credit card data, and laundering the proceeds of crime.
Four other Calgary residents were charged with fraud over $5,000 and possession of or trafficking in credit card data.
One of the accused will appear in court in Lethbridge on April 24. The other five are on warrant status.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Speaker kicks Poilievre out of Commons over unparliamentary comments
Speaker Greg Fergus kicked Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre out of the House of Commons during question period today.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Freeland previews omnibus budget bill, proposed capital gains tax change left out
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation is the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Air Canada walks back new seat selection policy change after backlash
Air Canada has paused a new seat selection fee for travellers booked on the lowest fares just days after implementing it.
McGill requests 'police assistance' over pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University says it has 'requested police assistance' about the pro-Palestinian encampment on its lower field.
Judge raises threat of jail in hush money trial as he holds Trump in contempt, fines him US$9,000
Donald Trump was held in contempt of court Tuesday and fined US$9,000 for repeatedly violating a gag order that barred him from making public statements about witnesses, jurors and some others connected to his New York hush money case. And if he does it again, the judge warned, he could be jailed.
Court upholds Milwaukee police officer's firing for posting racist memes after Sterling Brown arrest
The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a former Milwaukee police officer was properly fired for posting racist memes related to the arrest of an NBA player that triggered a public outcry.
Video captures deadly wrong-way police chase on Highway 401 in Ontario
A new video has surfaced showing a vehicle being pursued by police in the wrong direction on Highway 401 moments prior to a fatal crash that killed four people, including an infant and their grandparents.