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Thieves come calling for prepaid phone cards at South Florida stores(South Florida Sun-Sentinel (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Jun. 26--Thousands of immigrants reach for the brightly colored prepaid phone cards sold at area stores when they need to hear a loved one's voice back home. The credit card-sized items also attract another group that likes to reach out and touch: thieves. Recent thefts at area stores are drawing the ire of retailers who have lost thousands of dollars worth of the cards to burglars and even employees, they say. "We are tired of it happening," said Syed Hashmi, a Pembroke Pines wholesaler of prepaid phone cards who supplies several stores. "Every week, one or two gets robbed." Hashmi, a World Call USA cards distributor, said retailers began complaining to him about seven months ago. He and officials suspect the cards are sold in an underground market. "There's a big market for calling cards," Broward Sheriff's Office spokesman Neil Birenbaum said. "They're hard to trace, they don't need special activation codes." A Fort Lauderdale restaurant is the latest known victim, according to police. On June 16 thieves stole about $300 worth of Blackstone prepaid cards from La Belle Venus, 1519 NE Fourth Ave. Owner Desline Olcima said the thieves came back three days later -- before she even had a chance to restock the cards. "It hurts me financially," said Olcima, who spent about $200 to repair the damage the burglars caused. The previous week in Pompano Beach, a burglar smashed the windows of a Texaco gas station in Palm Aire and made off with more than $2,200 in cards, owner Anna Sperduti said. Video surveillance taped one man going directly for the phone card rack holding about 350 of them, she said. Detectives released information on the burglar and his accomplice, but both were still at large late last week, authorities said. Phone card industry experts say such thefts are common in areas like South Florida where many residents call abroad frequently. Retailers nationwide have been battling the thefts for years. Some take precautions such as keeping the cards off the sales floor or switching to electronic cards activated at the time of purchase. But thieves find a way to get to or manipulate the cards. "They're essentially cash," said industry researcher Fedor Smith, of Atlantic-AMC in Boston. "If there's a loophole, somebody's going to find it." Prepaid phone cards generated $3.5 billion in worldwide sales in 2004, the latest year for which numbers are available, Smith said. International calls accounted for 61 percent of that figure, he said. Sold in denominations ranging from $2 to $50, the cards enable customers to call from any telephone, by punching in a pin number on the back. With advertised rates of 25 cents per minute to Brazil, for example, they are a boon for immigrants from the Caribbean, South America, Asia and Europe. "Everybody buys phone cards," said Sperduti, who calls her mother in Italy several times a week using the cards. "I just like to hear her voice." Sperduti just wishes the thievery would stop. "I don't deserve this," she said. "I work 16-hour days. We all have to work to make a living." Staff Researcher Barbara Hijek contributed to this report. Macollvie Jean-François may be reached at [email protected] or 954-356-4694. |