Police said two more ATM skimming devices were located this week by alert customers, one at a 7 Eleven Store, 998 W. St. George Ave., and the second at the ATM Drive-Up window at the Bank of America, 601 N. Wood Avenue.
According to police, the first incident, the store manager at 7 Eleven reported to police on January 12th that a customer discovered that the green plastic ATM card reader appeared loose on the machine, and he was able to pull it off the ATM.
Police said this is the second 7 Eleven store that a skimming device was placed on an ATM, the other was discovered at the store on December 23rd on the 1800 block of E. St. George Ave.
The skimming device is placed over the actual card reader and attaches to it using glue or two-sided adhesive tape. There is an electronic reader in the skimmer which captures the card account information.
In the second incident, a 46 year old Linden man was using the ATM at the bank on January 13th when he noticed the skimming device attached to the legitimate reader using glue and was able to pull it off and report it to the police.
Linden police are warning residents who may have used either ATM to check their statements and report any fraudulent activity to their banking institution.
Detectives are also advising local businesses with ATM machines to keep them in an open area near the cash register easily viewable to employees and the public to discourage tampering, and to have them within the scope of a security surveillance camera.
They also believe that the 7 Eleven stores may have been targeted due to the placing the ATM’s in the rear of the store out of view of the employees.
There is an active investigation underway.