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.
A separate, tiny camera atop the ATM itself, the thieves can clone your debit card and use it to withdraw cash or make purchases. The money is usually laundered overseas. One 20-year-old Romanian has been arrested, but the police have noted that he's not cooperating, and say there's nothing we can do to prevent debit card identity theft aside from protecting our PIN.
"We're looking for the individual who has the expertise and the mechanical background to develop the devices and wire them properly, and the person who is charged with laundering the funds out of the US and to Eastern Europe," a Secret Service agent says. However, the criminals who charge $3.00 to make a withdrawal that costs 36 cents remain at large.
