STRATEGIC PARTNERS
November 21, 2001
NEW YORK – The United States Secret Service is investigating a ring of computer-savvy thieves that has allegedly stolen thousands of dollars across New York City by obtaining PINs and fashioning fake ATM cards, according to a report in the New York Times.
The crimes date back at least to the beginning of the summer, and the investigation now stretches from coast to coast, officials said. Secret Service spokesman Jim Mackin would not specify where other incidents had occurred.
Most victims had used their ATM cards at non-branch machines in grocery stores, delis and shopping malls. Account information was stolen and PINs recorded, allowing thieves to create duplicate cards and withdraw money before the victims noticed the money was missing.
Although the Secret Service would not say how PINs were obtained, thieves sometimes use small hidden video cameras to tape people entering their PINs or attach devices to the machines to record data from the magnetic strips on cards. In other cases, thieves have connected personal computers to ATMs and downloaded account information.
A spokesman at Citibank would not tell the Times how much money was involved, but said that any fraudulent withdrawals would be reimbursed. At Chase Bank, a spokeswoman said that the number of affected customers was small. At Amalgamated Bank, a spokesman said about 50 customers had their cards fraudulently duplicated, but that money had been stolen from only two of them.
