Quick Stop at a Massachusetts ATM

Smile!!!

"Two more arrested in alleged ATM scheme; Pair is accused of stealing PIN, credit card data" by Travis Andersen, Globe Staff | January 30, 2010

Two more suspects, including one who was in possession of nearly $100,000 when he was arrested, are facing charges in an alleged scheme to steal ATM card data from unwitting customers in Eastern Massachusetts, authorities said yesterday.

One of the two, Anton Venkov, 40, of Toronto, was arrested Thursday by the US Secret Service in Boston and charged with using counterfeit bank account access codes and aiding and abetting the plot.... Authorities say he had $99,100 in $20 bills in his car when he was arrested at Best Western Roundhouse Suites on Massachusetts Avenue.

Another alleged member of the plot, Vladislav Vladev, 36, of Quincy, was also arrested Thursday while sitting on a plane that was headed for Germany, at Logan International Airport, Norfolk County prosecutors said....

Judging by the names I see, they are Russian or thereabouts -- which instantly brings to mind the Jewish Mafia.

Prosecutors say Venkov and Vladev teamed up with Ivaylo Hristov, 28, of Ontario, who was arrested Wednesday, and stole debit and credit card data and PIN numbers by placing scanner devices and hidden cameras in ATM machines at several locations. Authorities believe they have stolen at least $100,000 from customers at Citizens Bank and other institutions....

I'm glad I go inside to see the girls. Keeps them employed, too.

The Secret Service learned in December that a Bank of America ATM in Saugus had been rigged with the scanner device, called a skimmer, and a pinhole camera, according to a court affidavit from a Secret Service agent. A surveillance photo showed Vladev attaching the skimmer, the affidavit said. Another photo allegedly showed Hristov removing the camera....

Quincy police said Hristov told them that he received 10 percent from the thieves’ withdrawals and gave the rest to Vladislav to deposit into an account in Chicago. He also had a card for a storage unit in Weymouth that he said contained equipment used in the scam, police said. They are seeking a search warrant for the unit.

The Secret Service learned yesterday that Venkov had checked into the Best Western and rented a black Infiniti, the affidavit said. He was arrested soon afterward and allegedly told investigators that Vladev urged him to come to the United States to make some easy money. Hristov and Venkov told authorities that they were born in Bulgaria but had Canadian citizenship....

Just another trio of hard-working immigrants, right?

They were here legally, right?

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