News

Five-man gang swipes $500k in skimming operation

August 7, 2012

The U.S. Secret Service and 16 police agencies in and around Detroit are searching for five men they believe to be responsible for a skimming operation that has drained more than $500,000 from ATMs in the Detroit area.

According to a news story by the Detroit Free Press, the skimming thefts have gone on for weeks. Using security video footage, authorities have been able to obtain clear photo stills of the five men they want to bring in for questioning. Authorities are asking for help from the public in identifying them.

Police said that members of the skimming crew have been busily siphoning money from consumer accounts at dozens of banks since at least June 28. The alleged skimmers have carried out hundreds of fraudulent transactions in three Michigan counties, and police are not certain that the loss figure will stop at the half-million mark.

"There's a chance that other [bank customers] just don't know," Lt. Clay Jansson, Oakland County Sheriff's Office substation commander in Commerce Township, told the Free Press. "I would encourage everyone that uses an ATM on a regular basis ... at least go online and check their account to make sure they haven't had money taken out of their account."

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