Pickpocketing 2.0 – this is the name given in Italy to a new crime phenomenon that's also reaching the country. In Sorrento, in the south, a thief was arrested with a contactless payment terminal. She approached tourists with the device and held it close to their pockets and bags, containing their cards.
A woman suspected of dozens of such thefts in Sorrento and Rome made small contactless transactions that did not require entering a PIN and robbed unsuspecting foreign tourists of the money on their cards, a Mediaset television news program explained.
As noted in the television report, the incidents revealed resemble scenes from a science fiction film. Carabinieri officers who detained a 36-year-old woman previously known to the police searched her bag and found a POS terminal used by shop owners, restaurants, service providers, and taxi drivers. It was registered to a fake person, an accomplice of the thief.
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During the investigation, it was established that she mainly approached foreign tourists and brought the payment terminal within a few centimetres of their pockets and bags.
Using NFC technology, a short-range wireless communication technology that allows for the transfer of data between nearby devices, the woman made small transactions, typically up to €50, by connecting to her victims' payment cards. The audible signal that sounds during the transaction was often drowned out by noise in crowded areas.
This means, it was emphasized, the opening of a new front with thefts on the streets and in public transport.
At the same time, experts have reassured us that it's not easy to rob someone using this method. A thief must enter the amount they wish to steal into the terminal, and the transaction takes approximately 30 seconds. NFC technology works at a distance of up to 2 centimeters. Payment cards are typically protected by items such as thick wallets or bag pockets.
From Rome Sylwia Wysocka(PAP)
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