I live in Park Ridge, a suburb of Chicago, and I was recently the victim of ATM skimming. My ATM/debit card was skimmed at the Charter One branch in Park Ridge during the weekend of July 25-26. Withdrawals totaling $2,000 were made from my checking account on August 5 and 6. Fortunately, the bank reimbursed me for the funds stolen, but this incident caused me a lot of unnecessary hassle and worry.
What I wanted to share with you is some information I got from a bank employee I'm friendly with. She told me that the scammers who did this are an Eastern European gang who have already skimmed numerous other ATMs in the Chicago area. They got over 50 people's card and PIN information from the Park Ridge ATM alone. According to her, the FBI and bank investigators have been chasing this gang for six months. She said that they started out in the city and are now working their way out into the suburbs.
What's amazing to me is that to the best of my knowledge there has been not one single story about this in the local media. Do a Google news search for "ATM skimming Chicago" and you won't find anything. If these guys have been in the area for six months, they must have already scammed hundreds if not thousands of people. You would think that might warrant a story in the Trib or something. It wasn't even mentioned in the police blotter of the local Park Ridge paper.
Very interesting. To prevent something similar from happening to you, familiarize yourself with how to recognize an ATM skimmer, try to stick to a few familiar-looking ATMs when possible, and be generally alert.
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Do not be fooled in thinking that the shape of the reader and having a green light will keep a device from being added to the ATM. Thieves have already figured out how to use the same type of clear plastic and mold a very small piece to fit on the card reader. I have been following ATM skimming very closely and have even seen some of the devices. You would not believe some of them. There is a device that banks can purchase to put on the ATMs to keep this from occurring, but banks don't believe it is a big issue.
]]>@NotYou007:
indeed, I literally maul any ATM I shove my card into- yanking the card deposit, trying to lift signs on the face, checking the lightbulbs and the camera shields.
The BF looks at me funny, but I'm used to it.
]]>@NotYou007: Same here, never can be too safe
]]>Yes they are showing 2 images, but not saying what it should actually look like. It is somewhat pointless.
It wouldn't be too bad, but considering it is possible to modify the first cashpoint, to make it look like the 2nd cashpoint with a skimmer is applied it creates a false sense of security.
]]>Instead of leaving it up to the consumer to determine if there is a card skimmer, why don't banks, as part of their opening procedures, have someone examine the ATMs to make sure there are no skimmer devices on them? The bank employees are more likely to tell if there is a skimmer, and if they are checked every morning, at most a skimmer is going to get 1 day's worth of data. It's not like banks have a thousand ATMs in a branch, at most its going to be under 10, and it would take all of 10 minutes, at the most, to look them over.
]]>I really dont care about Michael Jackson's frozen body or Jon and Kate. Just give me the damn local news!
]]>+1 Intarwebz for you - well played!
]]>Are we to imply that it's the FBI et al who've instructed the papers and stations not to report it? If so, how does this help them? If this ring has already been moving through the Chicago region, they'll eventually work their way elsewhere, and there will be nothing to report ... and no one left to prosecute.
Doesn't add up.
]]>Yep, it seems all Chicago media is concerned with is sports (witness the lead story on the 10 pm news about the guy who dumped a beer on a player at a Cubs game - who gives a rats ass about that!) or other fluffy, non-newsworthy stories. Too bad they don't cover the real stuff that affects people's bottom lines.
It's really a shame!
]]>Where I live I don't think it has ever happened but thanks to this web site I have started pulling on the card readers before I use one.
]]>I'm the person who sent the original e-mail. The intro is a little oddly worded. I didn't ask anyone why the incident wasn't reported in the paper and nobody told me. My theory is that the banks don't want people to know how widespread this is. They're afraid we'll all stop using the ATMs and debit cards they make so much money from.
As for the FBI thing, these guys would have to be idiots not to know the authorities are after them. Whenever money is stolen from a bank, the feds get involved. I do wonder how hard they are looking for them, though. Maybe I watch too many cop shows, but is it that difficult to catch people who keep committing the same crime over and over in the same area?
Anyway, I'm just a little ticked that the banks and law enforcement aren't doing more to educate people about this problem. It's so easy to prevent yourself from being a victim if you're armed with a little knowledge.
]]>Then the thieves put fake notices over those.
]]>Folks, if you see something like that on any ATM or a gas pump, give it a good yank.
]]>Haven't heard a thing about it!
]]>@nagumi:
Because the ATM owners are bigger thieves than the skinners.
@savdavid: Well, seeing as they are commiting a pretty serious crime, I think they're probably already aware that the FBI, or some type of law enforcement, is after them.
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