BRUNSWICK, Maine — Cumberland County Sheriff’s deputies arrested three men from out-of-state on Saturday in Brunswick and charged them with forgery in connection with a sophisticated credit card “cloning” scam involving devices illegally installed in pay-at-the-pump gas stations.
Yaisder Herrera Gargallo, 23, of Miami, Florida, is charged with aggravated forgery, misuse of identification and theft by deception, according to a release from Lt. Donald Foss of the sheriff’s office.
Jose C. Febles, 29, of Richmond HIll, New York, and Juan C. Febles, 51, of Miami face charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated forgery.
According to Foss, the three are part of a larger, nationwide scheme that copies credit card information at gas station pumps and then imprints that information onto a fake credit card. The switch can take place in less than a minute, he said.
“At the gas station, the face plate that holds the card reader would have to be opened, and then they’d have to unplug the cable that goes to the card reader, plug their device into the card reader and then reconnect the legitimate device to their device,” Foss said. “It still allows the transaction to go into the store and to the banks, but the card information is actually being captured and stored on the device.”
At about 12:45 a.m. Saturday, Deputy Todd McGee stopped a rental Jeep Liberty from the Boston area on Route 123 in Brunswick, according to Foss. The Jeep matched the description of a vehicle allegedly caught on surveillance video earlier this month during an investigation into fraudulent charges to credit cards reported by residents of Gray, New Gloucester and Portland.
McGee, with assistance from Brunswick police officers, allegedly recognized Gargallo as one of the suspects seen in the surveillance video, and a subsequent search of the Jeep allegedly turned up electronics, jewelry and dozens of “cloned” credit cards, several thousand dollars of goods allegedly purchased using “cloned” credit cards, as well as a credit card “skimming” device.
Jose Febles and Juan Febles, who also were in the vehicle, were arrested as part of the scheme.
The three were arraigned earlier this week. Gargallo posted $10,000 cash bail and was released from Cumberland County Jail. Juan Febles and Jose Febles remain at the jail, each held on $20,000 bail.
Detectives continue to investigate the three men, as well as other suspects.
“The extent of their criminal activity in Maine is not yet fully known,” Foss said. “It is believed that this particular group has been operating in Maine for nearly a week prior to their arrests.”
Foss suggested cardholders check their bank account and credit card information frequently and take care with information that contains their personal identification numbers, bank statements and Social Security numbers.
And although inconvenient, he recommended cardholders pay for gas by giving their card to a store clerk inside the store, rather than using the outside terminal.
“We haven’t heard of any skimmers having been placed on devices where an attendant is actually physically standing there,” he said.