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Credit card fraud is a hightech crime that can be prevented with some low-tech methods.

As investigators displayed on Wednesday an array of sophisticated machinery capable of manufacturing thousands of phoney credit cards, police said simple steps to protect your personal information such as shredding or destroying documents can help stop scammers.

All of us must take responsibility to ensure our data isnt compromised, said Det. Gerard Brand of the Calgary police economic crimes unit.

Police found stolen personal information that could be used to make fake credit cards that were allegedly being manufactured by an organized crime operation that was the target of a five-month investigation.

The probe wrapped up June 16 with raids at four Calgary homes, two commercial properties, a storage locker and four vehicles.

Police seized machines used to emboss and print phoney credit cards, as well as copies of holographic images used as security features on cards and government ID such as drivers licences.

Approximately 4,000 blank credit card templates displayed by police Wednesday represented the tip of the iceberg of what police seized, said Staff Sgt. Joel Matthews of the targeted enforcement unit.

This is equipment I would suggest the average person wouldnt know where to start with, Matthews said.

Its a sophisticated operation. Police also found 500 completed fake credit cards, 50 fake Alberta drivers licences, and personal information belonging to 50 people.

However, police also have yet to fully analyze seized computer equipment that may yield much more stolen personal information.

It has taken weeks, Matthews said, adding police expect to lay more charges against additional suspects.

While its impossible for local police to quantify how much of an impact the local investigation will have, statistics show credit card fraud is big business in Canada.

In 2010, the Canadian Bankers Association recorded more than $365 million in losses due to credit card fraud.

The retail and banking industries are constantly introducing security measures designed to stay ahead of criminals -such as microchip-embedded cards being phased in now.

The technology has evolved and the criminal element has evolved, Brand said.

Measures like shielding your personal ID number during banking and shopping transactions may defeat electronic devices used to illegally capture data, but criminals can also steal vital information by rooting through trash.

Thieves havent found a way to copy chip-embedded credit cards -but they can apply for them using information retrieved from documents thrown in the garbage without the proper precautions, said Brand.

It would be inconsistent to believe that just because we have chips coming in that this will all go away, he said.

jvanrassel@calgaryherald.com Twitter: @JasonvanRassel

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TASMANIAS green bag hero Ben Kearney has embarked on a new fight to protect consumers and small businesses.

Mr Kearney, who led the push for environmentally friendly green bags at shops around the state, is now taking on the consortium that owns EFTPOS after it announced a new fee for all of its shopping transactions.

Mr Kearney, who is national policy manager of the Australian Newsagents Federation, said the fee would make it more difficult for newsagencies to compete against big retailers.

We are very concerned it is inevitable the banks will pass on the fee and it is coming at the worst possible time, he said.

Mr Kearney said newsagents would be among the hardest hit because most of their customer transactions were done by EFTPOS.

The federation, which represents about 3800 agencies, is waiting to see what the banks do before seeking a meeting with Small Business Minister Nick Sherry.

Newsagents operate on such tight margins it will be hard for them to pass on the fee, Mr Kearney said.

EPAL, the consortium that owns EFTPOS, is planning to introduce a revised fee structure in October to raise funds for a much-needed upgrade.

At the moment, the cardholders bank covers the cost of each EFTPOS transaction, but the restructure would see this cost passed on to the retailers bank instead.

Under the new model, the merchants bank will incur a 5c cent fee for every EFTPOS transaction over $15. Transactions under $15 will be free.

The major banks have until next month to inform EPAL whether they will opt into the new interchange fee system, and also whether they plan to pass the new charge on to the merchant who in turn could charge customers.

EPAL argues the move is necessary to raise capital to make EFTPOS more competitive against VISA and Mastercard debit cards.

Mr Kearney said the ANF was also concerned EPAL shareholders Coles and Woolworths would not be affected by the new fee arrangement as they could choose to stay on the existing scheme.

Australian Retailers Association executive director Russell Zimmerman said banks should absorb the new fees, adding that retailers should not be forced to pass on the costs to consumers in a tough market.

EPAL chief executive Bruce Mansfield said the fee swap was necessary to bring about investment in the system.

It is important that EFTPOS remains a competitive domestic payment scheme so we need to invest in it to make it safer and to improve the technology to meet the consumer demands of wanting to pay their bills on their mobiles, over the phone etcetera, Mr Mansfield said.

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