Thieves Target Chicago Bank Accounts After Customers Made ATM Deposits
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Bank customers in Chicago have reported having their accounts hacked after making a deposit at an ATM.
CBS 2's Suzanne Le Mignot talked to two victims in this Original Report.
Christine Stephens is a customer at a Bank of America location in Bucktown. She made a deposit at an ATM and got an alert an hour later.
"It was really scary and it's just really upsetting to me because as someone who really works hard for their money, I don't think it's fair," she says.
Stephens says there was a series of about three transactions where thieves took $750 in about an hour.
Over at a Lincoln Park Bank of America location, we heard a similar story from a customer. He asked us to conceal his identity.
"It was maybe seven or eight hundred dollars, something like that," he says. "The bank is being good about reversing everything."
The man says he is not alone.
"I was in the lobby yesterday and there were at least ten people and all of them had had their cards hacked," he says.
In a statement, Bank of America says: "We're investigating whether there was a skimming device at the center locations but In the event we detect that a skimming device has been used, we proactively reach out to customers who may have been affected in order to block existing cards and issue new ones," Bank Of America spokeswoman Diane Wagner said in an email.
"We encourage customers to be vigilant and notify a financial center employee if there is something unusual about an ATM or their transaction; in addition, we recommend that all customers take advantage of services like online banking to regularly monitor their accounts and contact their financial institution immediately if they have knowledge of or suspect unauthorized or fraudulent account activity.
"Customers are protected against unauthorized transactions on their accounts and $0 Liability Guarantee covering fraudulent transactions. We review monitor card activity and will block potential fraud if abnormal patterns are detected."
The Chicago Police Department Financial Crimes Unit also urges all banking customers to remember to close out their ATM transactions once they receive their cash. Make sure you hit "No" to tell the machine, you would not like another transaction. This will prevent someone standing right behind you from being able to access your account.
