Police: Device on bank ATM emptied several accounts

The Woodland Police Department has received several calls from victims of fraud whose bank accounts were cleared out by a skimmer placed on an ATM at a credit union.

Police learned about the skimmer after receiving the calls, said Police Chief James Kelly. It is unclear if the skimmer was discovered beforehand, as the devices can be hard to spot.

A skimmer is a device generally affixed to the mouth of an ATM, and it surreptitiously swipes credit and debit card information when bank customers insert their cards into the machines. There are also pieces placed on top of cash withdrawal slots that record people putting in their bank codes.

The skimmer at Fibre Federal Credit Union, 1147 N. Goerig St., Woodland, may have been on the cash machine as early as July 29, but it was only discovered over the weekend, Kelly said. It is not in police possession, as the device was gone when the police department learned about it.

Anyone affected by the skimmer should report it to the police department, as well as call the bank and cancel their debit or credit cards.

“We’re not sure what kind of skimmer it was, but the thieves moved fast and cleared out some accounts,” the police chief said.

No suspects have been arrested.

People can also take steps before they use an ATM by checking if the machine has been tampered with in any way. The plastic mouth pieces around the card intake or cash slot should not be loose or easy to remove.

Kelly said in his 14 months as Woodland police chief, there has been one other instance of a skimmer, and it was at the same bank.

According to credit bureau FICO, there was a 10 percent increase in the number of payment cards compromised at ATMs and merchant devices — cards readers used at nearly every business — nationwide in 2017.