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 Technology News | April 2005 
Laws Target Credit Card Crime And Atm Thieves
 Jorge Herrera & Nayeli Cortes - El Universal
| | Authorities warn customers to beware of ATM scams. |
The Senate passed tough crime fighting bills Thursday targeting credit card fraud and ATM assaults.
Forging credit cards and checks or tampering with a credit card to illegally obtain money now carry a maximum penalty of nine years in jail.
The Senate approved the bill unanimously. The proposed law also covers crooks who place a dummy ATM panel in front of the real one, to steal card information from unsuspecting customers who insert their cards into the false panel.
The Senate also approved a bill specifically aimed at criminals who assault ATM users forcing them to withdraw cash and hand it over, the so-called "express kidnappings."
Judges will now hand out sentences of between 15 and 40 years for the crime, compared to the previous maximum penalty of nine years.
Such crimes have soared in Mexico City in the past decade, with card holders sometimes being held for days while the criminals empty their accounts over 24-hour cycles.
Also Thursday, the lower house of Congress voted for a bill to limit the number of firearms per household to two weapons. |
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