Credit union: ATM scam spreading across stateBy Thomasi McDonald
thomasi.mcdonald@newsobserver.com
Posted: Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2009
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How to avoid the ATM 'skimming' scam
RALEIGH Officials with the N.C. State
Employees Credit Union released an alert this week warning their
customers about a scam involving the use of their ATM cards, especially
at gas pumps.
Authorities
at the financial institution also released on Tuesday photos of six
people they think may be responsible for the crime.
The
SECU first became aware of the fraud -- known as "skimming" -- about a
week before Christmas, when credit union members started noticing
unusual ATM withdrawals from their accounts.
Raleigh police
confirmed this morning the scams reported by the state credit union,
but a police spokesman said that it's not the only financial
institution affected by the post-holiday, Grinch-like thievery.
"They
are still looking," Jim Sughrue, a Raleigh police spokesman, said about
the department's investigation. "It's too early to tell and it's not
limited to Raleigh."
Leigh Brady, a SECU senior vice
president, said the bandits have struck throughout the Triangle. So
far, the SECU has reported about 300 victims. Brady agreed with
Sughrue: the SECU is not the only financial institution affected by the
crime.
"Anyone who uses a gas pump is a potential victim," she said.
Brady said the SECU has not yet "narrowed down" the gas pumps that were used to steal banking customers' financial information.
Sughrue said the police have about 50 reported victims so far.
"We
can't yet get an accounting of the number of victims because people are
still discovering that money is being stolen from their accounts," he
said.
"Skimming" occurs when criminals place a device over
the ATM card reader to capture data from the magnetic strip on the back
of the cards, the SECU reported Tuesday.
The criminals then
place cameras near the number keypad of the ATM to capture the card
user's personal identification number, or PIN. Thieves then use the
stolen card information to create fraudulent cards that are used to
make purchases and withdrawals from the victim's banking accounts.
"We have had members' card information used as far away as West Virginia," Brady said this morning.
Brady said the ATM card bandits typically place the skimming devices on gas pumps where the items are much harder to detect.
"It's
a lot easier because the devices are not sticking out on a gas pump,"
Brady said. "On an ATM it's the same color as the machine, but it's
sticking out. They place the devices inside the gas pumps so you don't
even see them."
Sughrue said the police have not yet determined all of the methods used to steal ATM users' financial information.
Brady
said victims are not held liable in these situations and they need to
contact their financial institutions immediately if they notice any
fraudulent withdrawals from their accounts.