EL MONTE, Calif. – At least two credit unions and several area banks are now reporting their customers are victims of a debit card scam linked to an ARCO gas station, where authorities believe the card information and PINs were skimmed at the pump.
At least 70 victims were counted last week, including members of Vons CU, El Monte City CU, and customers of Washington Mutual, Bank of America or Citibank, according to police, who say as much as $100,000 may have been drained from the victims’ accounts.
Police believe a skimming device was attached to one or more of the gas pumps and recorded information from the cards’ magnetic stripes. The thieves then used the information to create their own phony cards and make cash withdrawals between $400 an $1,500 each time in Palm Springs, New York and Las Vegas.
The PIN-based debit accounts are being accessed because the gas station in question does not accept credit, because of the higher fees charged on credit transactions.
