O'FALLON, Mo. - Alyssa Stogdill said a withdrawal of $20 turned into a loss of hundreds.
On Halloween, Stogdill used her debit card at the Central Bank ATM on Highway K in O'Fallon, Missouri. A few days later, her parents, who monitor her bank account, noticed suspicious activity.
There was a withdrawal of hundreds of dollars from a Citi Bank ATM in New York City.
"All the way to New York is what I don't understand, so it's gotta be some group," Alyssa said.
O'Fallon Police say it was the same ATM where they believe man attached a skimming device. Officers said they do not know if he also attached skimming devices at gas stations around O'Fallon. The Secret Service is also investigating.
On Wednesday, Assistant Special Agent in Charge Doug Roberts showed NewsChannel 5 how thieves use skimmers to make new credit cards.
"When you put your card in, it reads the magnetic strip, sends it to the criminal 100 feet away via blue tooth," Roberts said. "Then, they'll re-encode the information on a piece of white plastic and they'll use for purchases."
It's making consumers re-think every swipe of the card.
"I might have second thoughts. Instead of using my card, I'd go to get cash and pay cash for it," said Chris O'Brien, who was getting gas at the Huck's gas station on Main Street in O'Fallon, where a skimming device was discovered.
As for Stogdill, she worked with her bank to recover her money. From now on, she said she will inspect every ATM she uses.
