Romanian ATM skimmers strike again! In yet another sign we need to get better about monitoring our bank statements, the U.S. Attorney's office today announced that the Secret Service arrested Laurentiu Iulian Bulat [PDF] and charged him with participating in a fraud ring that managed to steal at least $1.5 million from HSBC customers. According to the complaint, Bulat and his friends hit up more than 40 ATMs in Manhattan, Long Island and Westchester in less than a year. more ›

If you want to save money in the city here are two really solid pieces of advice worth following: Don't take cabs if in any way possible and do everything you can to avoid paying ATM fees. Thanks to the MTA, a bike and a good pair of shoes the first is easy. The second? Really depends on your bank. But one clever startup, Free ATM NYC, would like to make it a smidge easier. They just ask that you watch a quick ad while you wait for your cash. more ›

Two Romanian men were busted for allegedly stealing close to $18,000—in one night—from ATMs from a JPMorgan Chase bank in Queens, all thanks to some handy tricked-out Dunkin' Donuts gift cards. more ›

Using a clever new technique, "foreign gangs" are attempting to steal your debit card information and the last $64 in your checking account. According to CBS, the criminals set up card skimmers on the outside of the ATM entrance, so when you swipe your card to enter the kiosk, your information has been stolen. Asked if the scanners can be identified with the naked eye, a Yonkers police sergeant said, "Absolutely not." Remember when people used to physically remove your wallet on the subway? Ahh, the good old days. more ›

A group of masked ATM burglars who are accused of perpetrating 62 thefts in Brooklyn and Queens over the last 14 months have been caught. Four suspects (a fifth one was already in custody) are accused of stealing over $200K; police say they used a signature "splash and dash" technique, splashing the crime scene with bleach, to destroy DNA evidence. And just as we predicted, the robbers admitted to cops that they were inspired in that respect by the 2010 Ben Affleck movie, The Town. more ›

A group of masked ATM robbers are on the loose across Sunset Park, Bay Ridge, Bensonhurst and Park Slope, identifiable only by their signature move: splashing the crime scene with bleach. Wait, where have we seen this so-called "cash'n'splash" move before? Oh, right in that Ben Affleck movie The Town! Kids really do imitate celebrities these days. more ›

Yesterday, Dealbreaker posted an image of an ATM receipt found at an East Hampton Capitol One bank, revealing a shocking $99,864, 731.94 savings account balance ($2.75 poorer after ATM fee). Speculation was that the fat cat was hedge fund manager David Tepper, but he told the Post that he "wasn't in the Hamptons in June at all," plus, "I would never do something as irresponsible as leaving $100 million in a savings account." Yeah, when you've got the coin to pay $43.5 million cash on a house (just to tear it down), you keep your money in a vault so you can swim in it. more ›

Federal prosecutors have charged four men with stealing $1.5 million from various bank accounts after installing recording technology and other devices at ATMs in Midtown, Chelsea and across from the United Nations as well as in Miami and Chicago. Mihail Draghici, Ionel Dedulescu, Didi Theodor Ciulei and Laurentiu Mugurel Manta were hit with multiple charges, including bank fraud; the Dow Jones News Service reports, "The former two were arrested in Miami December as they tried to board an international flight... The latter two were arrested last month in Chicago." more ›

We've heard plenty of stories about people using ATMs to skim money from unsuspecting customers, but it seems that banks have been taking note, and have decided to get in on the action: several banks are rolling out dastardly new charges that could increase ATM fees to $5! more ›

After being expected to sign a bill to stiffen fines for illegal sidewalk ATMs, Mayor Bloomberg—for only the fourth time in nearly nine years—postponed signing the bill after being convinced by opponents that stiffer fines would lead to job loss? Really? He said, "I don’t want to be the Grinch that stole Christmas. I am particularly concerned about jobs in this city, particularly with small businesses." It has always been illegal to keep ATMs on the sidewalk, but the legislation would raise the fines to thousands of dollars. And put all the poor Whos down in Whoville out of Whojobs! more ›

The police released a surveillance video still of a man who mugged two women at Manhattan bank ATMs. According to WCBS 2, "Police said the first robbery took place on Sept. 3 around 1 p.m. at a Citibank location in Columbus Circle, then again, a week later, at a Chase ATM on West 23rd Street at mid-morning." In both cases, the suspect approached the women from behind, simulated having a gun and demanded their money. Neither victim was injured. Some women reiterated reminders/suggestions about ATM safety, “Be aware of your surroundings. Make sure all of your personal belongings are close to you,” and “You need to look behind you, look on the side of you, and you should have somebody else with you." more ›

A Romanian man staying in Queens on a tourist visa was indicted for trying to commit identity theft after he allegedly placed skimming devices and cameras at ATMs. The Westchester County DA's office charged Razvan Apostal, 31, with eight counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument and one count of unlawful possession of a skimmer device. The police got involved after a customer at a Greenburgh Chase bank noticed the additional camera! Rye Patch reports, "After viewing the bank's ATM surveillance video, Apostal was pinpointed as the suspect. However, about a week later, Apostal committed the same crime at the Rye Ridge Shopping Center in Rye Brook." Police found him with the skimming device and also discovered eight counterfeit $100 bills in his car. more ›

According to the Post, there's a pretty serious pair of thieves out there preying on helpless ATMs: "The duo has escaped with thousands of dollars in cash during their three-month crime spree, in which they used crowbars and even a Cadillac to haul away the machines, police said.... They have struck only free-standing ATMs located outside businesses, often grocery stores." They hit locations in Soho, Midtown, Lower East Side, Village, and Tribeca. But this doesn't hold a candle to the guy who dumped four ATMs a Fresh Meadows Park lake (he also jumped into the East River to evade the cops). more ›

A Long Island City man's daring attempt to destroy evidence after his arrest on January 21st backfired when the evidence—a 4 gigabyte Kingston flash drive—got stuck inside his intestines. Florin Necula was arrested outside a Queens bank for allegedly installing card-readers over A.T.M. slots to steal data (and $35,000). He was taken to a Secret Service office in Brooklyn, where he and several co-defendants were to be processed. But while there, and in full view of investigators, Necula "grabbed Subject Flash Drive 2, which had been on his person at the time of his arrest, and swallowed," according to court papers obtained by The Smoking Gun. more ›

Thieves rammed an ATM machine with a U-Haul van in an attempted robbery early this morning. It's unclear if they were able to grab any cash after they toppled an ATM near the corner of 112th Street and 3rd Avenue—though it appears they left the machine in pretty bad shape, based on this MyFoxNY photo. The thieves then drove off in the rented vehicle, but police were able to stop the van and apprehend one suspect in Soundview in the Bronx. According to police scanner reports, a second suspect, described as wearing all black, "fled on foot towards the Bruckner Expressway." more ›

According to a new tally, the Bronx has less banks than any other borough except Staten Island—it has only 154 bank branches compared with 701 in Manhattan, 428 in Queens and 343 in Brooklyn. In some parts of the borough—including the Van Nest neighborhood which hasn't had a bank in over ten years—you can walk for a mile without coming across one, reported the NY Times. “I don’t think you can have a thriving business community without a bank in the area,” said state senator Jeffrey D. Klein. “They really need a bank to serve as the anchor for the community.” more ›

There have been plenty of ATM skimmers ripping New Yorkers off, but would you be able to spot one? Boing Boing shows you what they call a "chillingly well-camouflaged" skimmer, with a design much less crude than previously seen ones. The devices capture card numbers while secretly filming you punching in your PIN number — Krebs Security notes that this one may have been purchased from an online criminal forum. They say: "Some of the skimmers sold on these forums are extremely sophisticated, incorporating features such the ability to send an SMS text message to the thieves’ mobile phone whenever a new card is swiped." Just check out this insane photo showing the cell phones hooked up inside the ATM. Keep your eyes peeled for pinhole cameras and ears alert for peculiar ringtones coming from the money machines! more ›

Watch out for those ATM skimmers! The Post reports, "Cops are looking for two high-tech thieves who hacked into at least four people's bank accounts after installing a 'skimmer' at an East Village ATM. The bandits on Dec. 9 placed the device -- which grabs electronic info off bank cards -- over the card-reader slot at a Bank of America cash machine on Lafayette Street, police said. The thieves used the info to clone bank cards and withdraw customers' cash. It wasn't clear how much money was looted." more ›

You know that ATM scam where four friends from NYU were busted for repeatedly claiming their ATM cards were stolen when they were actually taking in $422,000? Well, the Post reports that it went on for so long (between 2003 and 2008) "because bank officials thought it was easier to just pay up, according to one of the investigators who helped break the case." Former NYPD detective Harry Houck Jr. says that he questioned one of the suspects, John Tluczek, who claimed his ATM card was stolen and account looted—Tluczek's excuse: "I was planning to go on vacation, and I had a piece of paper in my car that had all my PINs written down. I just left it in my car." Houck was suspicious and found out that Tluczek wasn't even on vacation! "But Houck said that when he called other banks to ask them about Tluczek, they had also heard of him, but decided to just pay him off rather than fight. The banks paid because Tluczek and his cohorts were taking advantage of a part of federal banking law that allows people to get money back within 10 days if their ATM cards are stolen and used to make withdrawals." Investigators think Tluczek and his cohorts' haul could tally up to $1 million. more ›

In what Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes describes as "really a beaut of a scam," four friends from the NYU finance school are accused of ripping off Brooklyn banks for $422,000. Exploiting a regulation that requires banks to repay customers who claimed their ATM cards were lost or stolen within 10 days, the four allegedly made large withdraws from their accounts repeatedly over five years, then claimed that their cards had been stolen. "The scheme was as simple as it was brazen," Hynes told reporters today. The defendants were allegedly captured by video cameras when taking the money out, but they almost always wore motorcycle helmets or other covering to hide their identities. The accused are lawyer Eric Manganelli, 36; financial consultant Lam Dang, 37; bank employee John Tluczek, 37; and his wife, Marzena Tluczek, 35. They face multiple counts of grand larceny, falsifying business records and other charges, and each faces 2 1/3 to 7 years in prison for the top counts. The scheme was finally discovered after one bank investigator called another bank and they began comparing notes. more ›

The NYPD is calling on the public to help them track down a ring of thieves who used ATMs at two Sovereign Bank branches on Staten Island to rob customers of roughly half a million dollars. Police have released surveillance photos of three suspects who installed "skimmers" on the banks' ATM machines that grabbed data from the magnetic strips on the back of bank cards. They also attached tiny cameras in the lighted signs over the ATMs that videotaped customers' PINs. The suspects were then able to transfer that info onto a blank card and withdraw money from the victims' accounts. The bank has refunded customers, but Deputy Inspector Gregory Antonsen tells the Daily News that New Yorkers should monitor their accounts closely: "This crew is sophisticated. And they are coming up with new ways to steal your identity every day." Anyone ready to snitch can call Crime stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS or submit their tips online via the Crime stoppers Web site. ATM skimming is an ongoing problem for banks and their customers; in 2006 thieves scored $100,000 from 50 Washington Mutual accounts. more ›

There's nothing like a post-robbery attempt dip in the East River! The Post reports that a man suspected of trying to steal an ATM—by knocking it over with his van— on the Lower East Side early Tuesday morning had managed to put the ATM into his vehicle, but then the cops came. Valentin Garcia "ran out of room as he sprinted two blocks down Rutgers Street, running smack into the river... But that didn't stop him -- he jumped into the cold, dark waters and tried to swim for it." He was fished out and apparently told cops, "I was not in the van. I don't know anything about ATM machines." Garcia was also allegedly overheard using his alloted phone call to tell someone, "911! Get all of the cash out from my mattress!" Garcia is being held on $50,000 bail; he is suspected in a number of knocked-over ATM robberies. more ›

Stories of thieves setting up devices to "skim" bank customer data from ATM machines have been around for a while, which is all the more reason to be alert. A Gizmodo reader found himself face-to-face with one skimming set up at his Chase branch in the East Village. more ›

The police are looking for four people involved in a scam they operate in bank ATM alcoves. The AP explains the scheme:

After the target puts his or her bank card into an ATM, a woman approaches and says that machine isn't working. While the victim uses a nearby machine, a second suspect watches and notes the victim's personal code. more ›

Yikes: Thieves who targeted a Sovereign Bank on Staten Island's South Shore stole over $100,000 from customers' accounts. The Staten Island Advance reports that one victim, Tom Cosgrove, "went online to pay his bills yesterday morning," only to find "his bank account was $1,603 lighter." Apparently the thieves were skimming: They set up scanning device on the ATM's bank card reader, as well as a camera to tape customers entering their PIN numbers. Cosgrove, whose friend had $4500 wiped out from his account, said he got to the bank at 8:45 a.m. and there were other victims waiting: "It's the holiday season and people need money." Sovereign told the Advance the incident appeared isolated and that it would reimburse victims after receiving a claim, "The bank is aware of the inconvenience this fraud may cause during this holiday week and is working diligently to assist its customers." more ›

Wild: A man who robbed the Sterling National Bank on 7th Avenue near 38th Street in Manhattan was chased and tackled by the bank's ATM repairmen. The robber, Thomas Slater, had passed a note to a teller and stole $1,082--and some of the money went flying onto the street during the chase as Slater wove through cars to evade capture. CityRoom reports, "Pedestrians walked up to the cops or bank employees and handed over money that they had picked up." Police spokesman Paul Browne said, "Even in the bad economy, all $1,082 that had been scattered before the police arrived was recovered in full." Slater was charged with bank robbery and is suspected in three other bank robberies. And the NY Times' director of mobile products Robert Z. Samuels saw Slater get tackled--he took some video of the arrest. more ›

NYPD Sergeant John Hynes was suspended from the force and arrested on charges of of criminal mischief, reckless endangerment and prohibited use of a weapon after using his police gun to unload on an Upper East Side ATM. After accompanying Police Commisioner Ray Kelly to NY Post writer Steve Dunleavy's retirement part, Hynes then took his status as a member of the NYPD's ceremonial unit to the next level and hit the bars uptown. At his third bar, Brady's on 2nd Avenue, he was staggering around with his gun visible, an NYPD no-no. A Brady's bartender told the Daily News, "I was freaking out. I wasn't going to serve the guy, but I didn't want to have to say no to a drunk with a gun." After leaving, police say Hynes fired his 9 mm on an ATM at 2nd and 83rd St., then found a nearby stoop where he was sitting alone where he was arrested. Maybe he had been inspired by the celebration of the notoriously hard-drinking Dunleavy. more ›

The above receipt was recently found discarded, like so many greed-driven dreams, in a Wall Street ATM vestibule. Yes, someone on Wall Street just saw their bank account dip under the six figure mark. Maybe the sky really is falling! Or maybe Consumerist is right and the savvy rich lady or gent likely keeps the balance as such "for full FDIC coverage." Either way, that receipt's a real downer. more ›

Big gas guzzling SUV's aren't completely worthless, especially if you need to withdraw some cash in a hurry. A surveillance camera in Orange County New York shows an intrepid robber ramming the back of his SUV through the front of a convenience store in an effort to steal its ATM--the whole machine. Starting at the top left and going clockwise, you can see 1) the SUV slamming through the front of the store 2) the driver pulling forward to give himself some room to work 3) wrestling with the heavy cash dispenser that he knocked over while entering, and 4) lifting it into the back of the vehicle. See, they aren't kidding when they advertise how much cargo space those things have! more ›