Wily debit card scammers may have struck again over the Labor Day weekend, victims and police said Tuesday. At least 50 accounts were compromised.
Susie Engelbeck, 47, a stay-at-home mom from Puyallup, said someone using an ATM in Los Angeles took $800 out of her account over the weekend. When she went to report the fraud to her bank Tuesday morning, about 10 other victims were there doing the same thing, she said. “They had a line of people who had been scammed,” Engelbeck said.
Over the July Fourth holiday, more than 125 people who used their debit cards at a South Hill Arco gas station in 2007 had money withdrawn from their bank accounts. Police estimated losses were at least $500,000. Puyallup police Sgt. Ryan Portmann said Tuesday that the department has fielded about 20 new fraud reports so far, with the withdrawals happening in California and Texas. The thefts in July were linked by purchases at an Arco at 11608 Meridian Ave. E. last August. It’s possible the thieves kept some numbers in reserve from that scam, he said.
On Tuesday, Pierce County sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer again urged anyone who used a debit card at the station last August to get a new card. “We don’t know if they have more cards and are planning to do another round,” he said after the July thefts. By coincidence, Engelbeck’s mother-in-law left a News Tribune article on the thefts on the kitchen table for her to read Saturday. “I thought, ‘Three-day weekend, hmm,’” she said, referring to this most recent holiday. “I checked my account, even though I had just checked it 21/2 hours before.” After spotting an apparently fraudulent charge, Engelbeck said, she immediately closed the account.
Todd Pietzsch, a spokesman for the Boeing Employees Credit Union, where Engelbeck banks, said 50 to 60 members reported thefts over the weekend. “We take care of our members,” he said. “If it’s fraud, they’re reimbursed.” Neither the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department nor Tacoma police saw a new wave of reports Tuesday. But there are probably more people out there who don’t yet realize they’ve been robbed, Troyer said. “We definitely want everyone to call so we can try and obtain photos,” he said. Security photos of the thieves from previous ATM thefts haven’t turned up any leads, indicating the crooks are probably not from the South Sound area, he said.
Unfortunately, the scam is one that’s becoming more common. The thieves apparently installed a device on the gas station’s card reader that “skims” victims’ card information and PIN numbers. They seem to be targeting Arco stations, which take cash and debit cards but not credit cards. Arco officials could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Other agencies up and down the West Coast have reported similar scams. In July, the San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News reported that debit card and PIN numbers skimmed at Arco stations were used to steal upwards of $325,000 over the Memorial Day weekend.
Wily debit card scammers may have struck again over the Labor Day weekend, victims and police said Tuesday. At least 50 accounts were compromised.
