Scammers strike at local bank using skimmer
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Local couple is speaking out and warning people that they were recently scammed at a Bank of America in downtown Fresno...
Harley Roach said his partner made a transaction at the outside ATM at Bank of America on Fresno St. on May 3rd. Two days later she noticed she was missing a significant amount of money.
"She noticed on the 5th, $1,400 had been taken out of her account. She'd only be left with $15," said Roach.
Roach believes these scammers used a skimmer to steal the money and when he returned to the ATM to investigate, he noticed it was out of service.
"The ATM itself is closed down, you can't access it anymore and it looks like something was taken off where the credit card would normally go in," added Roach.
That same ATM is back up and operating as of late Friday.
Action News reached out to Bank of America regarding this incident, and they responded with this statement in part:
"Our ATMs are regularly inspected by our employees as well as our ATM technicians to ensure if skimming devices are detected, that they are removed quickly. Customers are protected from financial losses resulting from this crime through our zero liability policy."
In this case, the card that was used was an EDD debit card, which falls under a different set of protocols when it comes to refunding stolen funds.
"Technically, those are Bank of America prepaid cards. They are not Bank of America debit or credit, so they are not covered by the same money back or fraud guarantee," explained Roach.
We spoke to Fresno Police about the incident, and they shared these tips on how to avoid becoming a victim yourself:
"I told my partner I saw the same thing on the news before. You just got to pull on the credit card reader, if it gives a little or you feel any type of way about it, don't use it," said Roach.
The couple does plan on filing an official police report to retrieve some of the $1,400 that was stolen, but there is no guarantee that they will see a single dime.
