Foreign nationals nabbed for alleged shopping spree on forged

Eight foreign nationals have been arrested on suspicion of using forged credit cards to fund lavish shopping sprees in Seoul, police here said Tuesday.

According to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, six foreigners, including a Malaysian ringleader identified by the initial M, are accused of using 120 fake credit cards under other people's names to purchase 270 million won (US$248,000) worth of jewelry and electronic goods during their three visits to Seoul, with the first instance taking place in September.

The suspects allegedly intended to sell the majority of the goods in their home country, agency officials said.

In a separate case, two foreign nationals, including a Turkish citizen, allegedly used 80 forged credit cards to buy 9 million won worth of high-end IT gadgets, the agency said.

The suspects targeted South Korean retailers for their acceptance of magnetic stripe-based credit cards, which are more prone to fraud compared to integrated circuit cards, or IC cards, officials said.

"IC cards have never been used in credit card fraud in the country so far as they are difficult to duplicate," an officer close to the investigation said, calling for the need to phase out the use of magnetic stripe cards amid rising security concerns. (Yonhap News)