MONROVIA, Calif. — Twenty Monrovians have reported fraudulent ATM withdrawals from 20 separate locations outside the city in a two-day period earlier this month, police said Wednesday.
Monrovia Police Department Capt. Rick Miglia said the transactions took place on July 2 and July 3 at ATMs as far away as Woodland Hills and Palm Springs.
Police have no suspects in the thefts and it is not known if any of the crimes are related.
None of the withdrawals occurred in the same place, but investigators suspect that the account information of victims was compromised at at least one location, possibly more.
"We did hear of a couple of locations, but we haven't been able to confirm that," Miglia said.
The total amount of money taken is unknown.
The theft appears to have stopped for the moment, a lull that is common with this type of crime, officials said.
"Once the jig is up, so to speak, then the bank security inspects the ATMs regularly," he said. "It's pretty unlikely that we'll have any more victims."
Police have not determined how the wave of thefts was carried out, but officials suspect that the account information of cardholders was duplicated surreptitiously.
"I'm not sure of the technology, but apparently they must manipulate the machine in some way that they can copy the information," he said.
Last year, police in San Marino warned residents there to be wary of unfamiliar devices near ATMs, after wireless equipment was found at two Orange County machines.
That equipment, which was disguised as a part the ATM itself, could intercept account information and personal identification numbers.
Miglia said several banks have launched their own investigations in an effort to recoup their losses.
"The banks are absorbing the loss on this. Our citizens are victims, too, but truly the victims are the banks, because they're the ones suffering the monetary loss."