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 ›

ATM skimmers just keeps getting cleverer. For example: Back in March the police busted a pair of Romanian nationals in the country on journalism visas for hacking Dunkin' Donuts gift cards into ATM cards [PDF]. “Instead of going on a run for coffee and doughnuts with their gift cards, the defendants are instead accused of going to the bank and using its ATMs as their personal slot machines, cashing out large sums of money with each use of their ‘doctored’ Dunkin’ Donut gift cards,” said Queens DA Richard Brown. 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 ›

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 ›

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 ›

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 ›

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 ›