Five Men Face More Than 400 Charges In ATM Scam
Posted May 17, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It’s not that the crime is so unusual. It’s more the sheer number of charges that’s staggering. Toronto Police swooped down on five suspects on Wednesday, accusing them of rigging automatic teller machines with pinhole cameras that stole the PINs of hundreds of users. The suspects, from the Markham and Toronto area, were said to have set up shop back in September 2006, targeting bank machines in T.O., Barrie and St. Catharines.
Their alleged M.O. was simple but sneaky – they would overlay a panel on the ATM and install nearly undetectable tiny cameras overhead, getting a clear reading on the numbers being punched in. Once they had those, it was a simple matter to withdraw the maximum amount from the victims’ accounts.
Cops found enough evidence to lay a stunning 437 charges against the quintet – and they believe there may be as many as six others they haven’t been able to identify yet. The five accused are being held pending a bail hearing.
Authorities are advising the public to carefully check their accounts to see if they were one of those allegedly victimized by the gang. And to take extra precautions to protect their PINs, even if no one else appears to be around.
