MELBOURNE: Leading Melbourne retail stores were duped by students in a $500,000 credit scam between October and January this year.
Fairfax newspaper The Age reported that stores including Myer and David Jones were victims of a crime syndicate which recruited overseas students to buy store gift cards on fake credit cards.
Yesterday, Melbourne Magistrates Court was told Ching Boon Goh, 25, created the cards with an embossing machine, blank credit cards and stolen international credit card numbers. It was said the gift cards were then onsold for 70 per cent of their value.
An investigator for Myer stated that the company looked into the matter after it identified a syndicate was buying gift cards with fraudulent credit cards.
Goh pleaded guilty to 94 charges, predominantly of obtaining property by deception and was remanded to appear in the County Court in November.