Stockton - San Joaquin County District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar and the Bureau of Investigations are warning the public about ATM skimmers after several of these devices have been located on ATMs in the county. These skimmers normally consist of two parts: A card reader inserted in the card slot to record the card numbers and a pinhole camera directed at the keypad to record the user's PIN. These cards are then cloned and used to commit theft.
"We are asking the public to remain vigilant when visiting any ATM, bank ATM, gas station, or point of sale terminal," said District Attorney Tori Verber Salazar. The Bureau of Investigations implores the public to report to the retailer or bank any ATM that appears tampered with or has detached parts. The most susceptible cards are those that do not have a chip, such as EBT cards.
"We ask that those individuals who have used an EBT card at any ATM, to immediately change their PIN number and not disclose that PIN to anyone," said Lieutenant Angel Carrazco.
The San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office, Bureau of Investigations is currently working with other law enforcement agencies and appropriate Federal agencies to combat the problem. If you have any information related to those involved in these thefts, please forward this information to the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office via the Welfare Fraud Tip Line at (209) 957-7733. To learn more about the District Attorney's Office, visit our home page at sjgov.org/da.