THE National Police stopped in Calatayud three people of Romanian origin as alleged perpetrators of several ATM thefts. These are two 19-year-old men and a woman who used the method of false repairs at ATMs to commit robberies. The detainees had been denounced on other occasions, but this is the first time they have been arrested.
The victim, a young man who had just gone to an ATM to withdraw money, was approached by two young men as he was about to withdraw money from an ATM.
The robbery with the false breakdown of the vending machines
The criminals embarrassed to ATM users to create confusion and take the opportunity to change the amount the victim had entered and steal larger amounts of money.
These are three members of a roving criminal group who were arrested as suspected perpetrators of the theft of an ATM user. 900 euros from your account. While the user was carrying out the cash withdrawal operation, once the PIN code was entered, two people approached him and placed a sheet of paper on the keypad indicating that the ATM was out of service.
In the blink of an eye, the criminals were able to change the amount of money to be withdrawn and enter the amount to be withdrawn of 900 euros. In this way, the criminals were able change the 40 euros that the victim intended to extract.
It turns out that as they were leaving the ATM, a local police patrol was passing by and the victim managed to request their presence, at which point triggering a chase which led to the arrest of one of the alleged perpetrators, a 19 year old man.
Once the first of the members was arrested, the national police took charge of the investigation, succeeding a few hours later in arresting the second of those involved, also a 19-year-old man.
The investigation continued until the third of the accused was found, a womanwho was arrested early the next morning.
It should be noted that the fast action The Calatayud Police Station investigation group recovered part of the stolen money, which was returned to its rightful owner.
The three detainees are part of a traveling group and it is for this reason that the investigation remains open given the possibility of more victims appearing.
ATM scams
In addition to this false repair technique, the National Police warns of other methods used by criminals to steal ATMs, such as skimming and that of the rule.
The scam known as skimming involves installing a device in the ATM to clone and obtain data from the card’s magnetic stripe. Where are these types of devices typically found? In the slot where the card is inserted or at the bottom of the card.
Furthermore, the Police warn against the technique of the magnetic rulerwhich allows criminals to block and withhold money that the victim is trying to keep, pretending that it is broken and, therefore, blocking the outflow of money.
Police Tips
The National Police recommends the greatest attention when withdrawing cash from ATMs and warns of the importance of report a scamor as quickly as possible by calling 091 of the National Police.
In addition, if you have problems withdrawing money, it is essential to inform the police, putting maximum attention Before withdrawing money, check that there are no foreign objects in the bill exit slot.
