Steakhouse Waiters From Smith And Wollensky, Wolfgang Steak, And More Arrested For Credit Card Fraud

Waiters and other restaurant employees from some of the city's top steakhouses, including Smith and Wollensky and Wolfgang's, have been arrested for allegedly taking part in a massive identity theft ring totaling at least $1 million in stolen credit card information.

NBC New York reports on the more than a dozen arrests of both current and former employees who allegedly used handheld credit card skimmers to copy information from wealthy patrons paying with high-limit credit cards such as the American Express Black card.

The rather complicated scenario would then involve the illicitly obtained card information to be sent to the alleged fraud ring, who would then use the information to buy high-end, luxury goods such as Jimmy Choo shoes.

Those goods would then be resold for cash.

Police say restaurant owners were unaware of the alleged scam.

News of the arrests come two days after police arrested three Canadian tourists on Wednesday for allegedly planting hidden cameras and card skimmers in Chase ATM's near Union Square and stealing nearly $300,000 from more than a thousand customers.

Back in October, it was reported that banks in the United States were failing to properly secure credit and debit card information, ultimately losing in the global effort to fight off thieves and hackers.

According to the report, fraud in the United States made up for 47 percent of the international fraud losses in the past year.

Comments

[Lisa Hanock-Jasie]

11:16 AM on 11/21/2011

makes me want to be a vegetarian

[beau taylor]

08:43 AM on 11/20/2011

Maybe they should think about raising the waitstaff's minimum wage. What is it now, $2.19 and hour. When I was in the business I paid them $4.00 an hour and that was 15 years ago...

[Ainsi sera groigne qui]

09:06 PM on 11/20/2011

Just to be clear the minimum wage for wait staff supposes they can and often do receive tips.

Years ago this mainly was in cash and often not fully reported to the IRS and or otherwise declared.

However today many restaurants and such today include a flat "service" fee or "tips" attached to the bill which is often paid by credit card. While one supposes this makes tax reporting easier for the employer it also can lead to many hands laying claim to that tip before the wait staff receives any of it.

Restaurants now often "pool" all tips and not only divide the sum amoung all wait staff but bus boys, kitchen staff and anyone else remotely connected with service and or food preparation. Oh and often the house takes a cut as well for "processing" the credit card transaction.

Supposedly the above system is more democratic (well that is the owner's story and they are sticking to it), and prevents favoured waiters from making a killing in tips and others hardly getting a thing. However there have been many accounts of owners keeping the service fee for themselves. In places where the wait and kitchen staff are mostly immigrant workers they may not know there rights and that those funds are theirs.

[beau taylor]

07:16 AM on 11/21/2011

Thank you for your reply. Everything your say is true, I see nothing wrong in having a favorite waiter or waitress and in the industry they all work honestly together to tip out kitchen staff, bus persons, hostess,etc. A lot of unthinking, cheap customers don't tip proportionally and some ethnic groups will leave not a single cent. So that leaves this as and unfair wage and does allow unethical employers to steal from their hard earned monies.

[Ainsi sera groigne qui]

11:12 PM on 11/19/2011

For the record this type of thing is *not* new to upscale NYC retail locations. Indeed about a year or so ago a similar ring was broken up operating out of Bloomingdales running along the same lines. Sales persons were recruited to "skim" customers credit cards.....

Credit card companies tell their customers know the whereabouts of their cards at all times, but many retail locations (upscale stores, gas stations, etc...) have their cash registers in a central location out of view.

This sort of thing has gone on in the United States for so long because credit card companies and to some extent retail locations can write off all or part of the fraud against their tax returns. Also adopting "micro chip" cards as required in the EU and elsewhere is an expensive option. However that is going to change.

All the major credit/charge card issuers in the UNA are in the process of moving towards EMV chip credit cards. Retail locations that do not upgrade to the required equipment face becoming 100% liable for all fraud transactions.


http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/2011/11/02/credit-cards-with-chips-are-urban-legends-true/

[corwin]

01:21 PM on 11/19/2011

These were likely waiters/actors

[jstowe100]

11:26 AM on 11/19/2011

A massive scam like this (ie a real crime) and no names, but if you get hauled in for having sex on a picnic table H P puts your names front and center right in the headline.

[tccat4]

04:23 AM on 11/19/2011

I guess something like this, really puts the 1%, into a crime of their own.

[soli]

04:01 AM on 11/19/2011

More sloppy "journalism" by Huff Post, but that is no surprise.

What is "$1 million in stolen credit card information"?
Did the waiters who stole the information get paid $1 million?

A fraud ring is a "that", not a "who".
"Who" applies to a person or people, not a thing.

I am appalled by the degradation of writing/reporting by the US media.

[Steve68112]

01:25 AM on 11/19/2011

Canadian 'tourists', really? If Canadians are such good friends how come so many scams come from there and they never seem to get caught? Always trying to scam old ladies over the phone, spam scams, etc. True there are other places these come from but as often as not they get people to wire money to them via Western Union to someplace in Canada. And it seems like the Canadian authorities don't care too much as I don't think I have ever heard of any of them getting caught. Lock them up for a good long time let them find some really good new friends in an American prison, eh?

[lifehub]

04:09 AM on 11/19/2011

I don't know about Canada, but I've gotten many scam attempts and telemarketers from Florida.

[jwilli5815]

01:22 AM on 11/19/2011

Microchip technology is and has been in use in other countries for several years, These countries have take steps to protect card users. In the US Credit card companies send out mass mailings of credit offer, many of those offers being recieved by people other than the individual the offer was intended for. What does that tell you, big banks have your back? No.... more like backside.

[born 2b different]

08:42 AM on 11/20/2011

Credit card users in the US are 100% protected by law.

[kayyy]

01:05 AM on 11/19/2011

the reaction buttons are good butI have found several stories that should have the "stupid" button

[MMABlogs]

12:30 AM on 11/19/2011

Sure the restaurant didn't know anything about it at all.

[kayyy]

12:09 AM on 11/19/2011

IF YOU ARE STUPID ENOUGH TO USE THE CHARGE CARDS AND ELECTRONIC ETHERS FOR YOUR COMMERICE THEN YOU GET WHAT DESERVE!!! HA! CASH IS KING AND IT PREVENTS 90 PERCENT OF THE COSTS AND FRAUDS THAT WE EXPERIENCE IN THIS GENERATION OF FOOLS. IF YOU HAVE JUST ONE OF THESE CONVIENCES THEN YOU GET WHAT YOU DESERVE. YOU THE PEOPLE ARE STUPID ENOUGH TO TAKE THIS OPTION. YOU SHOULD BE STUPID ENOUGH TO TAKE THE CONSEQUNCES SANS DINNER OR ROMANCE. IT'S WRONG VERY WRONG THAT WE EXSPECT THIS KIND OF THING AS NORMAL. LOCK THESE BADDIES UP AND BURN THE KEYS AND MELT THEM INTO REAL CASH

[Bluemoon3256]

12:35 AM on 11/19/2011

.....with spelling like this, you are calling everyone else stupid!?!?!?! You can't even spell your own name.

[lifehub]

04:11 AM on 11/19/2011

What are you yelling unnecessarily for? A bit wound up today aren't you.

[cmdrmom2]

11:59 PM on 11/18/2011

Let's just all go back to cash. And perhaps a permit to carry.

[onlyaquarterdelusional]

11:47 AM on 11/19/2011

pay anyway you want but we city dwellers would prefer our city without the guns thank you.

[Ainsi sera groigne qui]

11:22 PM on 11/19/2011

One doesn't need cash, just common sense.

Do not allow anyone to take one's credit card out of sight for any reason. If the register is in another location (such as a restaurant) ask to be taken there to swipe your card personally.

Inspect card/bank/debit card accounts daily online or at least when monthly statements arrive. Indeed with most every bank/credit card issuer offering online access there is no reason *not* to say on top of one's account activity. The earlier suspect activity is caught the easier it is to stop.

Keep a credit card with a small limit (

[sanstorm910]

11:39 PM on 11/18/2011

this is why I use a card that only has low limit like $300. Not much damage can be done with it. And if its over $50 in fraudalent charge the credit card co will investigate it for you and remove the charge if fraudalent.

[soli]

03:50 AM on 11/19/2011

To rake:
You really need to stay off the comments boards.

You can't capitalize or punctuate.
Who is "she"?
What is "to lol"?
How do people scam people for 1 meter, as your abbreviation indicates?

Idiotic comments like yours both amaze me and sadden me because of the degradation of the use of the English language in the US.

[lifehub]

04:12 AM on 11/19/2011

An idiotic comment.