Thieves using elaborate scam to steal credit cards
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SEATAC, Wash. -- Police are on the hunt for a group of predators who are targeting people at grocery stores throughout King County.
Police say a group of at least four people devised an elaborate plan to steal from unsuspecting customers.
First, one of the crooks looks over the shoulder of a customer during checkout to get the person's PIN number.
"They're following people around grocery stores, mostly people over the age of 50, and they are somehow videotaping or watching them as they enter their PIN on the PIN pad," said Don Carroll with the Kirkland Police Department.
Then the group stops the customer at his or her car to ask for directions, but it's only a ruse to get their cards.
One recent victim from SeaTac said the thieves know exactly what they're doing.
"He started putting the map through the window and his hand was in back of the map he unlocked the door," the woman said.
The man proceeded to spread the map out in front of her before opening the door and getting inside, where he somehow got his hands on her wallet.
"They don't actually steal the card," Carroll said. "They're running it through a skimmer and they're putting it back."
The victim in SeaTac didn't even know she had been swindled until a week later, when her card was declined.
"They emptied the checking and went into the savings, and by the time they went in there the account had been shut down," she said.
The SeaTac woman was just one of at least 12 victims in King County.
Anyone with information about the thieves is asked to call the police.
Police say a group of at least four people devised an elaborate plan to steal from unsuspecting customers.
First, one of the crooks looks over the shoulder of a customer during checkout to get the person's PIN number.
"They're following people around grocery stores, mostly people over the age of 50, and they are somehow videotaping or watching them as they enter their PIN on the PIN pad," said Don Carroll with the Kirkland Police Department.
Then the group stops the customer at his or her car to ask for directions, but it's only a ruse to get their cards.
One recent victim from SeaTac said the thieves know exactly what they're doing.
"He started putting the map through the window and his hand was in back of the map he unlocked the door," the woman said.
The man proceeded to spread the map out in front of her before opening the door and getting inside, where he somehow got his hands on her wallet.
"They don't actually steal the card," Carroll said. "They're running it through a skimmer and they're putting it back."
The victim in SeaTac didn't even know she had been swindled until a week later, when her card was declined.
"They emptied the checking and went into the savings, and by the time they went in there the account had been shut down," she said.
The SeaTac woman was just one of at least 12 victims in King County.
Anyone with information about the thieves is asked to call the police.
If you're dumb enough to use credit cars in your day to day purchasing then its just a matter of time before you end up a victim. You can't skim cash, you have to steal it. Quite a bit more difficult of you're a reasonably smart individual. But in the land of debt everyone seems to love credit.
 @Blindman If you actually read the article, it doesn't say anything about credit cards, that's only the title. The description of the ruse in the article indicates that it is most likely debit cards they are targeting, since they use a camera or watch over the shoulder to get the PIN to the card, and most credit card transactions are done with signatures, while PINs tend to be used mostly for debit transactions. And debit cards are safer than cash because if your cash is stolen (say, by someone snatching your purse or holding you up for your wallet, or breaking into your home) you're not likely to get that money back (whereas with a debit card you can call the bank, put a stop on the card, and file a claim to get back any money that was taken).
Always be conscious of the direction your card faces when out of wallet. Never hesitate to tell someone to back off or you'll have them arrested. Get yerself two thin lead foil sheets to put on either side of your cards. Gold also works. This ain't rocket science, people. It's the money you work for, and it's your responsibility to protect it.
And people wonder why I NEVER use my debit card, credit cards are a much easier way to ensure your LIQUID assets stay yours! I don't understand how people get duped so darn easily from these guys, the one time my credit card somehow got used on the east coast I had caught it before the LARGE online purchase at WALMART of all places they attempted to make even got the charge appended. As I NEVER shop there and if I do go for something it is never over $20 so that transaction just jumped out at me. Called my credit card agency and quickly canceled the card, I tried getting the information from WALMART for where the POS had attempted to use for an address, was feeling the urge for a roadtrip to administer my own form of credit card fees on them....but I couldn't get the address they used, not through lack of trying. ...Lucky for them!
I, too, have been questioned by some family/friends as to why I don't use debit cards. I tend to either pay cash or by check.  The 3 main credit cards I use for emergencies have ALWAYS notified me when purchases are unusal - pays to have an excellent credit history... fraud alerts immediately went up and things taken care of and I was not liable for anything.
On the other hand, there are MANY sales clerks who do NOT check ID for checks, debit, or even credit cards. When I ask, "don't you want to check me ID?" the answer: "um, no... it's okay. "  NO IT IS NOT OKAY!  it is so freain simple for ANYONE to get ahold of the card and use it!
When cards are in my billfold, I always have it faced in.
When at the ATM, I always scan around me, shield the keypad and even try jiggling the part when the card goes in to see if there's a skimmer.
These are jerks, yes. But some common sense can sure help YOU be safe.
These characters are the worst kind of cockroach-like criminals on the planet
Hang 'em high.
When I have to purchase something online, I go get a "pre-paid" VISA and use that - even if someone steals the number, there will not be much (if anything lost). I only use my debit card with retailers/restaurants I trust.
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And as for "banks will never remimburse you with a debit card" - not true. I used to be with Watermark Credit Union, and had to dispute some charges I had not authorized - I had "providional credits" put into my account within 24 hours of me reporting the problem.Â
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Unfortunately, Sound Credit Union bought them out, and their customer service went down the toilet. I have moved my account to Washington State Employees Credit Union, and everything has been wonderful so far.
@LocalLady I use cash as often as possible and my debit card as little as possible. For online transactions I use paypal.
Two years ago I had some unauthorized transactions (to the tune of $600) on my bank account. I'm still not sure what happened but some scumbag must have gotten my debit card number and pin. Long story short I had to file a police report along with affidavids for the bank and it took a week but I got all of my money back. And it was Bank of America.
As for the scammers in this article, there's no way in hell I'd let some joker get in my car uninvited. He'd be eating his map.
 @Gigantor!  @LocalLady I recently discovered an issue with Paypal.  I bought something at sears.com using Paypal.  Upon receiving it, I did not like it and took it back to a brick-and-mortar Sears store.  It took about 30-45 minutes for them to return the funds because I went through Paypal.  They actually did not officially return the money in their system but just gave me money instead.  They were going to have to jump through some hoops.  Kind of a pain.
I have told people to give me three feet before when I am punching in my pin and there are RFID proof wallets or card holders you can buy.Â
 @Citizen#3457899654 That's what I was thinking..they are using RFID skimmers so all they have to do it get close to the cards. I'm glad neither of my BECU cards have RFID chips in them. I change my PIN from time to time too.
 @Citizen#3457899654 I have told my kids for years to back up and give the person in front of you their space while they do their transaction and in turn make sure people back off of you while you are doing yours.
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 @msouthj  @Citizen#3457899654 wish everyone told their kids this- and their parents, and grandparents. Thanks for doing so yourself.
The title says credit card scam, but it's a bank card scam. Her bank account was cleared. Bank cards have visa/mastercard logo's but are not credit cards. Big difference. I'm more worried about thieves getting to my bank account - like in this story, because unlike credit cards, the banks won't re-imburse you when your money gets cleared out. Been there, done that. Good luck EVER getting Bank of America or any other bank to replace you money. Credit card companies are easy(and honest and insure the money) though so you don't really lose it.
Funny, I have had the unfortunate experince of Bank Card Fraud twice. Both times Bank Of America replaced all funds within 48 hours.
@super Thats strange- someone stole my debit card and figured out my pin and drained my bank (knew the person), after I realised my card and money was gone it took less then 48 hours to have ALL my money replaced, and it was a Friday night when i first reported it stolen. Then again I bank with Key, not BoA.Â
 @super Are you serious?  Have you ever filed a Fraud claim at a Bank or are you just one of those people who comment because they have nothing else to do and the want to sound negative about something.  I happen to work at a Bank and we file Fraud claims like this  ALL DAY LONG.  You must have missed the part in the brochure about Zero Liability Protection for Fraud transactions.  So stop posting crap if you don't know what your talking about and can't sleep. Â
 @Madhatter72  @super Well he is correct, because you missed the part in the brochure about PIN based transactions not being covered by Zero Liability.Â
I would not call this "elaborate."
My Wife and I have an easy solution to this. We have a shared checking account and it's the only account we use when doing shopping at stores or online (basically, the only card we take into public), we only put enough money in there to pay for stuff, usually 2 days at a time. Â If you were to log into an ATM with that checking/debit account you cannot see the savings account (we set it up this way on purpose). Â
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So, if you steal the card with the pin, at most you'll only get whatever money we put in there to cover our expenses for about 2 days (which isn't much).
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We are using BECU.
 @Landshark I have a $500 limit credit card I use instead of a debit card. This is just for the normal daily use stuff and obviously not large shopping sprees. A couple months ago my number was jacked, and the 6 unauthorized charges were dismissed immediately. I am not so sure it would have been so fast had I been using a debit card. Plus, I probably would have been on the hook for the 6 unauthorized charges.
 @Rockberry  @Landshark The bank wouldn't have replaced your money at all had it been your bank card. I lost over $5000 to someone withdrawing it from my savings account - $200-$300 a day for a month. An account I NEVER used before so rarely checked. Bank of America would NOT refund my money. All I got was run around - phone transfers that eventually drop you. I called many many times and went into the branch. No refund. Not one penny. I had to prosecute the perp myself and he paid only one, 100 dollar payment to me then never paid the payments the judge ordered to pay again. I won't even bank with Bank of America again because they didn't re-imburse me. I now know other banks won't pay too because I know more people who were scammed that never got their money back - scammed like in this article where a reader got their numbers -specifically at a gas pump. Credit cards will re-imburse you. Only use a credit card for situations you don't trust.
 @super So.....Wait.....You didn't notice someone taking 200-300 out of your account for an entire month? Its an account your NEVER use but somehow your PIN and Card information were stolen somehow?  I'm smelling something a little fishy here and it ain't Ivars.  I think I know why the bank didn't give you your money back,  Perhaps it was your Swiss Cheese of a story,
These days those who are helpful to strangers get screwed. Â As far as I'm concerned, I rudely say, "Call AAA!" before driving away.
Oh, btw, whenever panhandlers approach me asking for change, I don't say, "Sorry, I don't have money" like cowards. Â Instead, I say "Get a job, you bum!" loud and clearly. Â I'm that kind of guy!
I pay cash as often as possible. When I do use my debit/credit card, I hold my hand over when inputting my pin number. Another scam to be aware of: friend reports his locker was broken into when he was exercising, but nothing was missing. Days later, his credit card was maxed out. Police believe the theif took a photo of his credit card in his wallet.Â