Police said Wednesday they have arrested three Malaysians suspected of going on a lavish shopping spree on forged credit cards in South Korea‘s famous department stores and tax-free shops.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said the three, including a 41-year-old man identified by the initial of his name J, used forged credit cards to purchase 290 million won ($257,600) worth of designer handbags and watches as well as high-end IT gadgets like the iPad and Galaxy Note.

They made three one-night visits to South Korea last month and used forged U.K. passports for the purchases at department stores and duty-free shops, the police said, adding the Malaysians were also holding about 100 forged credit cards.

The suspects targeted South Korean retailers for their acceptance of magnetic stripe-based credit cards, which are more prone to fraud compared to integrated circuit cards, or IC cards.

Amid rising security concerns, the local financial watchdog has decided to phase out the use of magnetic stripe cards by June.

Police said they are hunting accomplices in Malaysia in cooperation with Interpol officials. (Yonhap News)