$4K stolen from Raleigh man's bank as ATM skimmer fraud spreads to Wake County
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- A Raleigh man who used a CashPoints ATM in North Raleigh nearly two weeks ago says when he checked his bank account online he noticed two $2,000 cash withdrawals this week--withdrawals he didn't make.
His discovery comes on the heels of a warning from police in Hillsborough about skimmers found on CashPoints machines there and in Alamance County.
"This is something you think happens to somebody else," said Charlie Spahr the man whose account was debited $4,000.
The CashPoints ATM he used is at a gas station on Leesville Road near I-540.
He uses it often, and he and his wife Lee Ann soon found out so do a lot of other people.
"I put it on Nextdoor immediately. And the responses started popping up with people saying, 'This has happened to me.' Basically at that same ATM," Lee Ann Spahr told ABC 11.
We showed the Spahr's a video posted on abc.11.com with the story about the warning from Hillsborough police.
In it police from a suburb of Houston, Texas explain how skimmers work.
One officer holds up a piece of plastic shaped just like the plastic trim where you insert your card into an ATM.
He shows how it slips over the original card slot and then copies information from your card when you insert it.
He recommends tugging on that piece of plastic before inserting your card saying a skimmer will likely pull off while the original hardware will not.
He also shows how another piece of plastic trim with a small hole in the top is slipped over the cash dispenser.
A camera inside the hole looks at the keypad and records you entering your personal identification number or PIN.
The Spahr's were both shaking their heads as they watched the video.
"It's just unbelievable what they're doing," Lee Ann Spahr said.
The Spahr's called Wells Fargo bank to report the unauthorized transactions - the first made at a Wells Fargo branch ATM in Northern Durham and the other at a branch ATM in the Alamance County town of Mebane.
Charlie Spahr said he was relieved by what the bank representative told him.
"It's obvious what's happened and your account will be credited the full $4,000 and any fees, which there won't be any, within a week."
Still they say they wanted to warn others in Wake County to be cautious when using their cards.
