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Card-Cloning ‘Travel Agency’ Dismantled in Ituzaingó Raid

Investigators describe a scheme that sold cheap trips to real customers, then settled bookings with stolen card data.

Overview

  • City Police detained the suspected ringleader and two women as they raided a home outfitted as a card‑cloning lab.
  • Officers seized at least 100 plastic cards, with some reports citing more than 300, plus embossers, magnetic writers, hologram tools, electronics, cash and a .22 revolver with its serial number removed.
  • The inquiry began after a cardholder spotted an ALMUNDO ticket to Brazil he did not buy, which led investigators to trace payments and passenger records.
  • Detectives linked the purchases to a WhatsApp contact posing as a travel agent offering steep discounts, and they documented customers paying via transfers or digital wallets.
  • The case is led by the Buenos Aires City cyberfraud prosecutor Miguel Ángel Kessler, who is summoning identified travelers and seeking more victims and possible accomplices.