Police probe 'skimming' card reader at Citizens ATM

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January 25, 2013

Police probe 'skimming' card reader at Citizens ATM

By Marjorie Nesin Staff Writer The Gloucester Daily Times Fri Jan 25, 2013, 01:27 PM EST

Gloucester police are advising residents to check bank statements after learning today that an illegal device used to read debit card information was attached to the Citizen’s Bank ATM at the bank’s Main Street location.

While the device has since been removed — apparently by the perpetrators, police said — the card reader, a so-called “skimming device,” appeared to have been attached to the ATM between Jan. 12 and Jan. 17, and resulted in an estimated $12,000 being lifted from the accounts of people who used the machine, according to a Citizens Bank fraud investigator who contacted Gloucester police this morning.

“The citizens need to know that they need to check their account statements and to notify us as soon as possible — notify their banks and then us,” Gloucester Police Lieutenant Kathy Auld said. “We’ll just pull everything in, take all the reports, and keep tabs.”

According to a police report, security footage from the bank appears to show suspects removing the device from the machine last Thursday, though police reported the device seemed to be actively in place only on Jan. 12 and Jan. 13, according to a police report.

A skimmer is a device, such as a camera or a card reader, tha is attached to an automatic teller machine’s card slot and that is used to illegally obtain debit and credit card information, according to police. That information can then be used to steal money, defraud the cardholder, or to commit other crimes through the potential theft of personal information, according to police.

A Citizens Bank fraud investigator told police “skimming devices” have frequently been tied to organized crime in Eastern European criminal enterprises. The Citizens Bank investigator has also reported the incident to the FBI.

Gloucester detectives notified other area banks of the device this morning, and said the investigation is ongoing. Officers are reviewing security footage from inside the bank.

We will update this story here at gloucestertimes.com as more information becomes available.

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Marjorie Nesin can be reached at 978-283-7000, x3451, or at mnesin@gloucestertimes.com.