By Jerry Burke
Nassau County police are saying that thanks to the alertness of a bank customer at the Bank of America branch on Hempstead Turnpike in Elmont, two men have been arrested for "skimming," a fairly simple method of obtaining the magnetic signature of ATM cards as well as PIN numbers.
Detectives say that the witness, whom police would not identify, called police at 6:45 p.m. Saturday alleging that he saw a man driving a white Dodge minivan with New Jersey plates removing a black device from the branch's ATM at 1431 Hempstead Turnpike.
Fifth Squad detectives Eric Byrom, Ed Rogan and Russell Bastone responded to the call. Luckily, the witness followed the minivan from afar and continued to report its location to the switchboard.
The detectives caught up with the vehicle on the Grand Central Parkway near the Queens Boulevard exit, police said. After they pulled it over, a search of the car revealed that the driver, Talwinder Khubar Singh, 19 (no known address), and passenger Rajwinder Brar, 27, of Richmond Hill, were in possession of what police called a "skimming" device, a small attachment to a ATM card port that is often black or painted to match the color of the ATM panel.
In addition, police found a two-foot camera strip, a hot glue gun, magnetic strip cards, screwdrivers, a power converter and batteries, all of which police say are used in converting customers' information onto the cards.
The scam works this way: The skimmer is usually placed on the machine, often shaped to fit the ATM. Police say it collects card information, which can be transferred to a remote laptop computer nearby.
In order to get a PIN number, police say, a tiny strip camera is placed on the ceiling of the ATM, where it records every button a customer presses on the keypad. The information is then used to create a new card, which in turn is used make withdrawals. Variations on this scam can even allow thieves to create fake credit cards with others' information, but with fake names on the cards.
According to Detective Sgt. John Roden of the Fifth Squad, skimmers are often hard to identify. "It's usually not obvious when you look at the machines unless you know what you're looking for," said Roden.
Both men were arrested and charged with first-degree defraud, duplicating computer material and computer trespassing. Singh was also charged with three counts of second-degree identity theft for prior incidents in which he is a suspect, police said. Those incidents, according to Detective Lt. Robert Cuerbo, include two on April 27 in which police say Singh used the device to steal more than $1,500 from ATMs in Manhattan and Rosedale. The third was an alleged April 28 theft of more than $1,500 from the same ATM in Elmont.
Police are still investigating the pair, saying that it was unclear when the device and camera were installed, or how many people in total fell victim to identity theft in the scheme. Police say that thanks to the witness's quick thinking, it was unlikely that the suspects had enough time to use the information they obtained Saturday.
Singh was held on $10,000 cash or $20,000 bond, and Brar was held on $1,000 cash. They were transferred after their Sunday arraignment to the Nassau County Correctional Center in East Meadow.
A statement from Bank of America urges anyone who believes they may have been a victim of skimming to visit their nearest branch or call (800) 299-2265.
