The fate of John Scott Hubbard
Resulting in the closure of A.S.A.P Multiform LTD.
08 February 2007
Pin entry device fraudsters sentenced
A company director and a computer consultant who conspired to defraud the
UK clearing banks were sentenced to a total of ten years at Croydon Crown
Court today.
John Scott-Hubbard, of
Larkhall Close, Hersham, Walton-On-Thames, Surrey KT12 4JN
received five years.
Brian Warburton, a computer consultant from Scotlands Drive, Farnham Common
received five years.
The two men had previously pleaded guilty to developing a sophisticated
system designed to copy the payment card details from the magnetic stripe
and capture PIN codes of unsuspecting customers using keypad devices in a
number of retail outlets.
When the machines had been successfully altered for fraudulent purposes
they were placed in a secret location to be collected by other members of
the criminal fraternity who would then position them in a number of retail
outlets. The men are thought to have been paid £2,000 for each machine
altered which they divided between themselves.
Detectives from the City of London Cheque and Credit Card Unit worked
closely with banking industry and terminal manufacturers to identify both
Scott-Hubbard and Warburton and the altered devices.
DC Ian Whiting from the City of London Police said:
During this investigation the City Police worked very closely with the
banking industry and the terminal manufacturers to identify the two men
and to track down the altered terminals. This is the first case of its
kind in the UK. We will continue to work closely with the banking industry
David Levy, Assistant Director of the Fraud prosecution Service, said:
"This case was an excellent example of the close co-operation between the
City of London Economic Crime Department and the recently formed Fraud
Prosecution Service where very early consultation enabled a proper
charging decision to be made at soon as possible. The work of the officers
and David Williams, the senior reviewing lawyer, has brought about a
proper and just outcome. This case was also a total vindication for the
retention and use of the charge of Conspiracy to Defraud."
Sandra Quinn, director of communications at APACS, the UK payments
association said:
"Although fraudsters have traditionally used devices at cash machines to
try and capture card and PIN details, industry preventative action has
seen them try to target other places where we use our cards, such as
retail outlets. However, as today's sentence proves, it is hard to get
away with this type of crime because our systems can so easily track where
it happens, stop it promptly and, through liaison with the police, arrest
those involved."
"As ever, anyone who is the innocent victim of this or any other type of
card fraud should report it to their card company immediately. Under The
Banking Code, if your card details are stolen - providing you haven't been
negligent - you will be reimbursed for any fraud on your card."
For further information contact Ian Sales, Media Liaison Officer, on 07802
923775.
Chip and Pin fraud pair jailed
Paul Cheston, Evening Standard
9 February 2007, 12:16pm
Reader comments (1)
Two men have been jailed for a multi-million pound conspiracy to modify chip and pin machines and steal users' credit card details.
John Scott-Hubbard and Brian Warburton doctored the devices so they would record customers' secret pin numbers.
Only one of the 41 chip and pin machines they doctored has been found, meaning hundreds of people could have had their details stolen in the scam, with an 'incalculable' cost to the public.
The pair were jailed for five years each in what is believed to be the first prosecution of its kind. Croydon crown court heard how plastics engineer Scott-Hubbard, 64, and computer programmer Warburton, 53, were arrested after a modified chip and pin machine was discovered at a Shell garage in London.
It was found to have recorded 219 sets of customers' credit card details and later analysis revealed that Warburton had fitted it with pin-retaining software.
Last May, police carried out raids on Warburton's home and on Scott-Hubbard's business and home addresses. At Warburton's home, officers found more than £29,000 in cash and a USB memory stick containing the software for recording pin numbers.
Scott-Hubbard told police he was paid up to £2,000 by a man he knew only as Cameron for each machine he and Warburton altered. He insisted he shared the money equally with Warburton and said he had netted more than £20,000.
But prosecutor John Greenan told the court that analysis of Warburton's diary suggested the pair had doctored 42 machines - 41 of which were delivered - and appeared to have earned £86,500.
Passing sentence, Judge Warwick McKinnon said those involved in the conspiracy stood to gain 'simply mind-boggling' sums that could run into' literally millions of pounds'.
He said he accepted that the pair were not the organisers of the criminal scheme, but added that it would not have been possible without their technical skills. 'In the part you played, in my judgment, you were instrumental in the significant increase in the level of credit card fraud since the chip and pin scheme was introduced, a scheme designed to combat if not eliminate this class of fraud.'
The pair earlier admitted conspiracy to defraud.