Last Thursday, police confirmed a skimmer, which is a removable device that scans and stores card information, had been attached to the Bank of America ATM on East Third Street. Video surveillance was also used to film ATM users' personal information as it was entered into the machine. A total of 286 accounts have already been compromised and over $43,000 lost, investigator Rob Toronzi said.
According to an article on LehighValleyLive.com, $43,625 was stolen from 34 accounts as a result of the skimmer on East Third Street and another on Catasaqua Road.
The thieves are believed to be Armenian or of some other European origin and driving a dark-colored Mercedes E55 sedan, according to the same article. The Bank of America employees realized something was wrong after they started receiving numerous calls about unusual card activity and problems. Upon investigation, they discovered a skimmer on the ATM on Catasauqua Road and later found a skimmer and video device at an ATM on East Third Street, Toronzi said.
The skimmers are believed to have been attached from Feb. 25 to March 9, according to an article in The Morning Call. "Customers with unauthorized card transactions, if reported within 60 days from the statement date, will be reimbursed," the same article stated.
"My Bank of America debit card was frozen here and the teller told me it was probably due to the scam," said Corrado Altomare, '09. The Bethlehem Investigative Bureau is currently working to track down those who are responsible for the scam. "We're working in conjunction with the Secret Service and they are aware of the individuals," Toronzi said. "We know of them but not exactly who they are. We have photos."
The men have been targeting ATMs in southeastern Pennsylvania since mid-December, but may be difficult to find because they move around and do not live in the area, Toronzi said.
As for the skimmer itself, it is a small, battery-operated device that is glued to the card-scanning machine on an ATM and works by reading the magnetic strip on the debit card. Skimmers vary in appearance.
"One is a sliver of plastic glued to the slot of the ATM's card reader," according to the same article. "Others are more sophisticated, including an overlay fastened to the ATM's keypad."
The other device that was employed in the scam was a video surveillance camera. According to Toronzi, the surveillance cameras are tiny and are usually attached to either the upper light fixtures on the ATM or the brochure holders. Toronzi encouraged all ATM users to check both visually and physically for illegal devices before swiping their cards or entering their PIN. "If there is something that protrudes out of the card holder, pull on it hard," Toronzi said. "If it comes off, then it is a skimming device. If all else fails, when you are putting in your pin number, just hide the pin number."
Toronzi insisted everyone should search the Internet for images of skimming devices, so they know what to look for while making transactions at an ATM. "I would never put my card into a sketchy-looking slot," Chris Brunn, '11, said. Toronzi warned that skimming devices are not only used on ATMs. "A skimming device can be put on anything," he said. "Gas pumps, look for it there."
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