Authorities disrupt bank card fraud operations in Mexico and Chile

Authorities in Mexico and Chile have intercepted separate criminal operations involving the illicit use of bank cards.

In Durango, Mexico, state police arrested three individuals—one man and two women—after bank staff reported suspicious activity at a branch on Domingo Arrieta Boulevard. The group was found in possession of 85 payroll cards belonging to a different financial institution, 73 withdrawal receipts, and 87,743 pesos in cash. The suspects initially claimed the cards were being used to secure payments for workers at a manufacturing plant, later stating they acted as lenders who held cards to guarantee debt repayment.

In Chile, a 54-year-old Peruvian national has been placed in pretrial detention for allegedly leading a criminal organization in Iquique and Alto Hospicio. The group specialized in ‘card swapping’ at ATMs, targeting victims aged 40 to 80 by offering fraudulent assistance during technical issues. While the leader swapped the cards, accomplices observed security codes to facilitate unauthorized withdrawals and purchases. Investigators identified the suspect, Víctor Delfín Loza Oyola, through security footage; at the time of his arrest, police recovered 456,100 pesos in cash and nine bank cards, many with the owners' names erased.