News

Texas man charged in ATM shoulder surfing scam

March 10, 2004

EL PASO, Texas - Police have arrested 22-year-old Ricardo Orozco for stealing as much as $15,000 from unsuspecting ATM users.

According to a KVIAreport, police said Orozco would linger near people withdrawing money from ATMs at convenience stores. He would pretend to be looking at merchandise when he was actually watching and memorizing PINs. Then, when  an ATM user forgot to completely log off, he would step in and reactivate a transaction.

Javier Sambrano, spokesman for the El Paso Police Department, told KVIA, "He would go in and say he would want to do another transaction. Then re-enter the PIN that he had memorized and would withdraw about $300 on the average from victims' accounts."

Police received various complaints from cardholders saying they noticed additional withdrawals after using ATMs at two different Diamond Shamrock convenience stores.

Police believe Orozco hit as many as 50 locations.  He has been charged with debit card abuse.