Skimmers found on Dubuque ATM’s

This morning officials at Dupaco Community Credit Union discovered a credit/debit card skimmer on a drive-up ATM at their Key West branch located at 2245 Flint Hill Dr. The skimmer was found by an employee performing an inspection of the machine. . It is believed that the skimmer was placed on the machine on Dec. 15^th at approximately 2:15 PM.

During the investigation, it was found that a second skimmer had possibly been placed on a drive-up ATM at the Dupaco branch located at 3299 Hillcrest Rd. Surveillance of that incident shows the suspect placing what is believed to be a skimming device on the ATM at approximately 2 PM on Dec. 15^th and then removing it shortly before 5 PM.

Dupaco’s Fraud Prevention Team completed an extensive review of surveillance footage and found that the suspect possibly put skimmers on the previously mentioned ATMs on Dec. 9^th also. The skimmers were placed in the morning and removed later in the afternoon. By using these tactics, fraudsters are able to place skimmers on machines and remove them quickly before they are detected by inspections. As such, it’s important to use caution when using electronic payment terminals like ATMs or gas pumps. Don’t use a machine if something on the face appears to be out of place or loose and shield the key pad if entering a PIN.

The skimmer recovered today was fixed securely to the machine and was accompanied by a small hidden camera the size of a pin hole. The investigation is ongoing at this time.

Dupaco will notify all of its members who used the machines during the suspected time period and re-issue their debit/ATM cards. For added protection,

Skimmers are illegal card readers attached to electronic payment terminals, like ATMs, that record data off a credit or debit card’s magnetic strip without the cardholder’s knowledge. Criminals may sell the stolen data or use it to make purchases. Cardholders may not know their information has been stolen until they get a bank statement or an overdraft notice. You can learn more about skimming devices by visiting: https://www.dupaco.com/dupacodaily/2018/07/how-to-spot-a-card-skimmer.html.

If you have any information on this incident or others, please call the Dubuque Police Department at 563-589-4415 or Crime Stoppers at 800-747-0117 or 563-588-0714 (if the information leads to an arrest, the caller is eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,000). You can also submit tips anonymously online at www.cityofdubuque.org/police or through the MyDBQ smartphone app available at www.cityofdubuque.org/MyDBQ.