Toronto police say they have uncovered a massive debit-card copying operation where information from victims' bank cards was copied and transferred onto usable, counterfeit debit cards.

Members of the ring allegedly manufactured equipment which they used to copy data and personal identification numbers from bank machines around the GTA. Duplicate cards were allegedly made that would allow money to be taken from the victims' accounts, police said Wednesday in a release.

Police believe thousands of people have been duped, and the culprits could have stolen millions of dollars.

Investigators say they were able to identify suspects and their roles in the organization by working closely with the banking community to identify frequently compromised machines.

Police arrested eight people and laid more than 100 charges, including:

  • conspiracy to commit fraud
  • possession of credit card forgery device
    manufacture of credit card forgery device
  • repair of credit card forgery device
  • fraudulent use of data
  • possession of property obtained by crime
  • careless storage of ammunition

(To see the names of those charged, see the Toronto police press release.)

Police tracked down the suspects after tips from area banks led them to machines that were equipped with skimming technology.

Police say some of the suspects operated labs where the stolen information would be transferred to counterfeit bank cards. Two sophisticated labs were allegedly uncovered in the GTA on Tuesday -- one in the storefront of a York Region industrial complex and one in a Toronto apartment building.

Police seized $120,000 in cash, computers, skimmers, card readers, counterfeit cards, cameras, tools, manufacturing equipment and two-way communication devices.

The six-week investigation was a group effort handled by members of the Toronto Police Service Fraud Squad, the Ontario Provincial Police Organized Crime Enforcement Bureau, the York Regional Police Fraud Section, the Peel Regional Police Fraud Section, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Commercial Crime Section and the Canada Border Services Agency.

Police warn debit cards users to protect their personal information.

"Theft and counterfeit cards have been a growing problem," said the release, adding 159,000 card holders lost more than $100 million to such activity in 2007.