U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan started out in a serious tone, noting that two Romanian nationals were part of an ATM “skimming” ring that compromised bank accounts and evaded law-enforcement officials in Sweden, Germany and Canada.
“But then they came to Bothell– that was their mistake,” she said as the crowd laughed during a press conference at the Bothell Police Department this morning.
Durkan and Bothell Police Chief Carol Cummings were on hand to honor Kenmore resident Cherie (last name withheld) and Bothell detectives Michael Stone, Jon Caban and Ryan Odegaard for their involvement in alerting police of suspicious activity, apprehending the men and helping bust the prolific ring on Dec. 2, 2010 in Bothell.
Overall, the ring stole more than $1 million from more than 300 bank accounts in the Pacific Northwest, Durkan said.
According to a previous Reporter story, ATM skimmers place a fake faceplate over a cash machine’s card reader, and a device is then placed inside the fake plate, where it can capture the information stored in the card’s magnetic strip. Thieves place small cameras above the ATM keypad to capture customers’ PINs. Thieves then “re-code” victims’ bank data onto blank debit cards or store gift cards.
Cummings said the partnership between citizens and the police department is key.
“A citizen was willing to step forward when she saw something that was a little suspicious, took the time to get the information (and) to contact us,” she said. “Because of that, our great detectives were able to pull together a case and take some bad people off the street.”
At about 2 p.m. Dec. 2 at the Canyon Park Bank of America, while in her car Cherie witnessed one man first spending a significant amount of time at a drive-through ATM — while on foot. She chose not to use that ATM when he finished “because I thought maybe he had done something funny to the ATM.”
Cherie then went to use the outside ATM, and the man in front of her was taking a long time there, as well. She watched him eventually leave and get into the same truck as the first man.
She alerted the Bank of America manager, and then went to her car and intended to go to a store and buy her son a snack before picking him up after school. However, her plans changed when the men in the truck were driving in front of her. She wrote down their license-plate number and then saw them turn into nearby Chase Bank.
“It was kind of bugging me, so I said, ‘Let me go take a drive over there,’ and they were doing the same thing at Chase, so I called 9-1-1,” she said.
“Have you ever seen something and didn’t report it and then it’s just bugged you your whole life? That’s happened to me before, and so if I see something, I say something.”
While observing them and speaking with the 9-1-1 operator, she told the person: “I know shady when I see it, and they’re doing something wrong at the banks.”
Durkan noted that “coincidence was on the side of the angels,” since the three detectives were trying to take a lunch break and noticed the same suspicious activity and leaped into action.
“There is no rest for the Bothell Police Department,” smiled Durkan, who was also a “skimming” victim by a different theft ring. One man was arrested in the truck and detectives chased down the other man, who was trying to flee on foot.
After Cherie picked up her son from school, they heard sirens and saw the police darting into the area. They called her and she picked out the “skimming” men in the shopping-mall parking lot near Chase.
“I’m pleased that I was able to help people,” said Cherie, who is surprised the thieves weren’t caught sooner, since during her experience they were “skimming” in broad daylight with others around.
According to a press release, in September 2011, the Secret Service Electronic Crimes Task Force executed search warrants and arrested Ismail Sali at the Kirkland home that was a hub for the “skimming” activity.
Durkan noted that people using ATMs should be aware of their surroundings before withdrawing cash and make sure no one can observe their PINs.
Cummings also awarded Cherie a Meritorious Service Award on a day that was part of a national week recognizing crime victims and the witnesses and professionals who work with victims in the criminal-justice system.
