Prosecutors charged three Canadians today with stealing Chase Bank customers’ debit card information, after using a hidden camera to capture their data.
Nikolai Ivanov, 31, Dimitar Stamatov, 28, and Iordan Ivanov, 24, used an illegal “skimming” device to obtain customers’ bank identification, then used those stolen debit card numbers for a $285,000 spending spree, prosecutors allege.
The defendants allegedly drove from Québec to plant 11 skimming devices at four ATMs around Union Square. During five days in January, Ivanov and Stamatov stole data from 1,400 ATM cards, prosecutors said.
A Chase Bank spokesman said they reissued cards to customers reporting problems.
The defendants allegedly slid a green plastic device the slot where users dip their ATM cards. The device then obtained card numbers by reading the magnetic strip, while a hidden camera recorded as users punched in their debit codes.
In total, they allegedly stole bank account information from about 1,500 victims, using them to make cash withdrawals and buy things like food, electronics and gas during trips to Arizona, Illinois and Canada.
