Dear ATM bandit: The sheriff has your stuff
I read this in the paper the other day. This dude has some smarts.....
I hope you enjoy this story I know I did
Dear ATM bandit: The sheriff has your stuff
St. Petersburg Times; St. Petersburg, Fla.; Apr 11, 2002; CHRIS TISCH;
Abstract:
A half-hour later, Pinellas sheriff's deputies were at the Bank of America, 33415 U.S. 19, inspecting the ATM. What they found were the inner-workings of an ATM scheme that is as elaborate and sophisticated as local detectives have ever seen.
Late Friday night, after the bank was closed, the schemer went to the drive-up ATM and put an "out of order" sign on it. The crook knew ATM users then would head to the walk-up ATM.
Bank customer Tony Marino of Largo withdraws $20 Wednesday from a walk-up ATM at the Bank of America on Missouri Avenue in Largo. (ran LA, CT, NT); This electronic equipment was removed from the Bank of America ATM in Palm Harbor.; Photo: PHOTO, DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD, (2)
Full Text:
Copyright Times Publishing Co. Apr 11, 2002
(ran SS edition of METRO & STATE)
The man didn't have a bank card in hand. He was messing with the ATM when the customer walked up. Then he looked away and left.
A half-hour later, Pinellas sheriff's deputies were at the Bank of America, 33415 U.S. 19, inspecting the ATM. What they found were the inner-workings of an ATM scheme that is as elaborate and sophisticated as local detectives have ever seen.
On the machine itself, deputies found a tiny camera, a transmitter and a rigged-up bank card swiper.
Stuffed in a large ashtray near the machine, deputies found a black leather bag. Inside was a machine that looked like a fancy tape-recorder. It was a receiver, packed with personal information that the camera and swiper had hijacked from bank customers who used the machine.
"This is a very elaborate scheme," said Pinellas sheriff's Detective Cal Dennie. "It's very smart."
Deputies thwarted the scam Saturday morning at the Palm Harbor bank, and no known victims have been found. But investigators worry that other banks may have been victimized recently.
The scam worked like this:
Late Friday night, after the bank was closed, the schemer went to the drive-up ATM and put an "out of order" sign on it. The crook knew ATM users then would head to the walk-up ATM.
On that machine, the thief rigged the devices. He placed a box of blue Bic pens on the machine. Customers would have thought it was a box of pens for people filling out deposit slips. But what they wouldn't have seen was the tiny camera poking out of the box. That camera recorded the customers punching their personal identification numbers into the machine.
The thief also rigged a swiper on top of the bank's swiper. This device steals the information from the magnetic strip on the customers' cards. But the swiper is thin. It allows the card to register with the bank's own swiper, so the transaction can go through and no suspicion is aroused.
"It passes through two of them," said Sgt. Robert Hart of the sheriff's office Criminal Enterprise division.
The crook also took another precaution to make sure no one messed with his gear: He taped a sign to the machine that read: "Tampering with this device will cause an alarm."
Customers get their cash and leave, thinking nothing is wrong. In truth, the crook has just recorded their PIN as well as their magnetic card information.
But that's not all. In an ingenious twist, the crook brought a large ashtray/trash can to the bank. He placed it near the machine, complete with cigarettes and sand in the ash tray to make it look real.
But inside was the receiver. Video and audio from the camera, as well as the information and numbers from the swiper, were transmitted to that receiver, which saved it all.
Information from every customer who used the ATM is stored in the receiver. The crook can then use that information to duplicate the customers' credit cards. He has their PINs, so he can easily access their accounts and start draining.
"They could get thousands of dollars before you know it," Hart said. The scheme is smart and thorough.
Think the machine's surveillance camera might help? No way. The only photo the machine took was of a gloved hand - the thief's - covering up the camera before he moved in and set up his gear.
The gear is sophisticated, powered by battery packs.
"Someone knew what they were doing to put that together," Hart said.
But detectives think the crook was spooked Saturday morning when a customer walked up and noticed him acting suspiciously. When deputies were called, they found the smoking gun, the electronic guts of the scheme.
Deputies say this is the only instance they know of in which this equipment has been used to rip off personal information, though they think there might be more. If the crooks ran the scheme at other local banks recently, investigators anticipate they'll be receiving calls from people whose accounts have been tapped.
Hart said detectives received word about three months ago that this scheme was happening in Florida, but he said it might be the first confirmed case in the Tampa Bay area - and perhaps the state - in which the deviced was seized.
Hart said people need to pay close attention to their bank statements for transactions they didn't make. They also should be wary of any quirks at the ATM, such as the no-tampering sign.
"You've got to think twice," Hart said. "You don't shove your card in there."
Hart said no one at the Palm Harbor bank was victimized because the scheme was foiled. All the important information is still in the receiver, which the sheriff's office now holds. He said deputies will process the gear for fingerprints and run them through a system. If they get prints and the builder has a criminal record, it might lead to their man.
System_0verload
