ATM Scam Moving to Oklahoma

Tulsa Police have a warning about a crime they believe is making its way to Oklahoma. Criminals are converting bank ATM's in order to steal your identification. It's costing victims thousands

Wednesday, March 17th 2004, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

Tulsa Police have a warning about a crime they believe is making its way to Oklahoma. Criminals are converting bank ATM's in order to steal your identification. It's costing victims thousands and thousands of dollars.

The scam started on the east and west coast and has worked its way to Texas. It's just a matter of time before it's arrives in Oklahoma.

It's a crime that can wipe out all the money in your bank account within minutes, and you won't know it until it's too late.

Tim Stadler with Tulsa Police's Cyber Crime Unit says organized criminals are manufacturing high-tech devices that attach on bank ATMâ€™s to steal your card number.

Stadler continues, "This device reads your card and electronically sends it to the suspect sitting in a car in the parking lot with a wireless receiver, so he can receive your credit card info."

The suspects can also retrieve your pin number by attaching a small camera to a leaflet, which faces the screen filming the keypad as your type your PIN.

Immediately, the suspects can produce fake cards and start withdrawing cash from your account and leaving your account drained.

Stadler says, â€The victims are the ones that hurt immediately by it because all of a sudden they go to buy groceries for the family and there's no money in the account.â€

Before you use an A-T-M, look around for anything suspicious. Also, notify the bank institution or police immediately if something isn't right.