ATM scam machine in operation for days

SCORES of bank customers could be victims of a gang which placed a skimming machine on an ATM in Co Cork.

The device was discovered at a Bank of Ireland branch located in the Hazelwood Shopping Centre in Glanmire at the weekend, but the scam could have been in operation for several days.

Gardaí said yesterday it was possible that a large number of people had been deceived. The ATM scam is a favourite of eastern European gangs.

The gang hid a mobile phone, set on video recording, behind a false top over the machine. The phone was able to record the PIN numbers of customers and the skimming device duplicated the cards’ details.

It is understood that one young woman had her account illegally accessed three times since last Wednesday, leading gardaí to believe the machine was in operation for a number of days.

“The battery on a mobile phone will last, on video, for two to three hours maximum,” a Garda said. “So it is quite possible that the culprits came and replaced the mobile phones when the batteries were exhausted.”

Gardaí are examining CCTV footage taken from the bank in an effort to identify the perpetrators.

Fortunately, a large number of people immediately cancelled their cards on hearing the news, thanks to an innovative system set up by a local garda and a county councillor.

Garda Noel Fitzgerald and Cllr John Gilroy recently established a crime alert text messaging database containing 800 numbers for local businesses and community alert activists. Those on the database received texts notifying them of the scam a few minutes after it was discovered. They, in turn, passed the information off to friends and neighbours.

It is estimated that up to 2,000 texts were sent around the area alerting people to the scam.

“The response was phenomenal, so much so that the phones in Glanmire Garda Station were ringing for hours afterwards. We advised people immediately to cancel their cards to be on the safe side, and we know that an awful lot of them did,” the Garda spokesman said.

Gardaí said the text messaging crime alert service is a pilot scheme in the area and they are anxious to have it extended throughout the country.

Bank of Ireland yesterday confirmed a suspected device had been located at the ATM. An investigation is continuing.