That's a great story - smart to use the terrorism angle as there is likely some truth to it.
The CC companies don't care about apprehending fraudsters. To do so is too labour-intensive and often doesn't pan out. A few years ago my mom's MasterCard was compromised with an $8000 charge for two cruise tickets. Even though both the bank and the cruise company knew exactly what cabins were booked on which cruise, they didn't bother with pursuing it. They just wrote the loss off - and we all pay for that!