BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. --
Boulder County Sheriff's deputies have released a picture of a man they said has stolen more than $100,000.
Deputies said the man puts a skimming device on an ATM to get bank account information. He took more than $11,000 from one person's account, deputies said.
As deputies investigated, they said they found other incidents throughout the greater Denver area involving the same man.
"From Broomfield, from Thornton, from Wheat Ridge, and then of course a place in Utah and another place in Las Vegas," said Detective Sam Hard with the sheriff's department. I bet at least a dozen people. It's metropolitan wide and it's over 100,000 total."
While they suspect skimming, Hard told 7NEWS they're not exactly sure how he's getting away with it, but do think he's been disciplined, not using the stolen info to buy anything online or at stores or restaurants.
"The suspect got the information about the account and maybe manufactured his own card?" Hard said. "I suspect that there's some kind of a network."
A woman named Amy told 7NEWS she had no idea her ATM card had been maxed out in May, until she was denied her own ATM transaction.
"Someone else had been tapping into my account everyday to the maximum amount for the last, about 14 days," Amy said. "You know, obviously it's a pretty intelligent thing to be able to do and um, yeah, it'd be nice to use that energy in a way that would benefit everyone."
Skimming can be as simple as photocopying receipts. More advanced methods involve using a small electronic device (skimmer) to swipe and store victims’ credit card numbers, deputies said.
Common scenarios for skimming occur in restaurants or bars where the skimmer has possession of the victim's credit card out of their immediate view. The thief may also use a small keypad to unobtrusively transcribe the 3- or 4-digit security code which is not present on the magnetic strip.
Some skimmers, like the thief in this case, put a device over the card slot of an ATM, which reads the magnetic strip as the user unknowingly passes their card through it. These devices are often used in conjunction with a miniature camera (inconspicuously attached to the ATM) to read the user's PIN at the same time, deputies said.
If you recognize this thief, call Detective Sam Hard at the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office at (303) 441-3641.
