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High-tech thieves get card info from Bellingham ATM, steal thousands
By Sara Withee / Daily News Staff
Saturday, April 22, 2006 - Updated: 02:34 AM EST

BELLINGHAM -- Hit with their first case of ATM skimming, police are advising consumers to check their bank accounts if they used a Bank of America machine in the Hartford Avenue shopping area in the past 10 days.
Among the busiest ATMs in town, the stand-alone structure that was targeted sits in the Stallbrook Marketplace, in the parking lot outside Barnes & Nobles and Wal-Mart. Police know of 10 people taken for thousands of dollars so far, though they said they believe there are more victims because many people only check their accounts when their monthly statements come in the mail.
"There’s a lot of people that are unaware that this has a good possibility of happening," said Bellingham Police Detective Sgt. Richard Perry.
There are several forms of ATM skimming. Generally, police say a fraudulent card reader is placed over the bank’s regular reader allowing entry. This lets the thieves store the bank card numbers, which they print on fraudulent bank cards. They still need the pin numbers, so cameras are often placed near the ATM, though there are some other methods of obtaining them, including fake key pads and customers watching from behind.
Bellingham Police only learned about the skimming Thursday, so are uncertain how exactly it was carried out. But they want to warn people now.
"Before we have anymore major losses, we want to let people know to be aware of it," Perry said.
The thieves were apparently making financial transactions with the stolen information on the Rte. 9 corridor between Framingham and Worcester, Perry said.
Perry asked consumers to report any suspicious activity at the ATM immediately.
"You would know if you were really paying close attention," he said. "It would look abnormal."
Across Massachusetts, ATM skimming has surfaced sparingly over the past few years, though it has a hard punch. Last year, a Romanian national was charged with withdrawing at least $400,000 with stolen bank card information from ATMs in the Needham and Wellesley areas.
"It’s still very rare, but it’s something that we warn people about all the time because the more people know about this type of scam, the better off we are to catch them faster," said Bruce E. Spitzer, spokesman for the Massachusetts Bankers Association.
Spitzer advises consumers not to wait for monthly statements in the mail and should use the Internet to check their accounts. Reporting problems early can help get money back, he said.
"Generally, most people are made whole by the banks, but again, if you go 90 days without reporting it, that may be a problem," Spitzer said.
Bank of America will refund all its customers’ money and is cooperating with police to solve the case, spokesman Ernesto Anguilla said.
The Massachusetts Bankers Association has several tips for avoiding this theft, including shielding the key pad while you punch in your pin number, look out for extra attachments to the building’s door and look out for cameras. More tips can be found on the association’s Web site at www.massbankers.org.
Sara Withee can be reached at 508-634-7546 or swithee@cnc.com.

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Posted by: bikecop34

Oh boy! I had this happen last year right before Christmas. It was, by far, the biggest pain in the A#@ to deal with! I did get all of my money back from my bank, but it was a sobering experience. Yes, even cops are not immune from falling victim to this type of scam. So be alert if you use an ATM and don't assume that an ATM at a bank is any safer than the rest. I hope they catch these guys...they never found the ones in my case, but oh how wished they had!!!!

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