Secret Service: Skimmers Targeting Charlotte-Area ATM Users

In the past month, there have been four local cases of ATM skimming, which is a practice that involves using devices to steal people’s bank account information.

The scam involves putting false fronts, which hold card readers, on ATM machines so that when users put cards in, thieves can steal their account information.

U.S. Secret Service agents said they are currently looking for a man and a woman who have used the scam to steal thousands of dollars from victims in Charlotte this month.

“They've hit at least four machines in the Charlotte area and we're looking for others right now,” Glen Kessler, with the U.S. Secret Service, said.

Kessler said the pair has been using the devices in Charlotte since Aug. 1 and has operated primarily in the Carmel Road and Johnston Road areas, attaching false fronts to existing ATMs.

“Now the bank has your information, (and) now the bad guy also has your information,” Kessler said. “So he comes back later, retrieves (the) device, plugs it into a computer and he's got all your information.”

Kessler said thieves also sometimes attach hidden cameras that capture customers punching in PIN numbers, allowing them to create new cards and drain cash from accounts.

Bank customer Larry Cole said he’s already on the lookout for the devices.

“You can tell if there's something over (the ATM.) And I look to make sure that it’s … one piece,” he said. “I can't believe people do that, but there are scams all over the place. You just have to be aware.”

Secret Service agents said the two people they are currently looking for initially started skimming in Charlotte two years ago, then took the scam to Florida. At the beginning of August, though, Kessler said they returned to the Queen City.

Agents said ATM users can protect themselves by using one hand to block the keypad while typing in PIN numbers. Users can also tug on the card reader, agents said, to see if it’s loose or pulls away. If so, that means it’s a fake. In that case, agents said to contact the bank or police.