Aurora police investigating ATM skimmers found at two bank branches

Aurora police are investigating two cases of ATM skimmers, used to steal credit card, debit card and PIN numbers, at two Old Second Bank locations.

Old Second Bank employees found the skimmers on the 1300 block of North Farnsworth Avenue and 4000 block of Fox Valley Center Drive.

The first skimmer was found around 6:30 a.m. Saturday at the Farnsworth branch after an employee reporting for work saw a woman walk up to the ATM and act suspiciously. After the woman walked away from the machine and left the area, the employee checked the ATM and located the skimmer. The bank notified personnel at its other branches and a short time later a skimmer was found at the Fox Valley branch, police said.

Investigators don't know if any accounts were compromised. Detectives are scouring security videos as part of an ongoing investigation and believe both cases could be linked.

Skimmers grab data from the magnetic stripes of credit and debit cards each time they are swiped. The information can be used to clone card numbers or break into bank accounts and steal money. A skimmer is smaller than a deck of cards and is designed to easily slip over an ATM's actual card reader. A pinhole camera can be incorporated into the skimmer, on top of the ATM or to the side inside a plastic case containing brochures or other materials.

The cameras capture PIN numbers as they are put in by the ATM user. Fake number pads installed over the actual keyboards that record PIN numbers as they are entered also have been used, police said.

Police are advising consumers to check for tampering on ATMs or credit card readers before beginning a transaction. Anyone with information is asked to call Aurora police investigations at (630) 256-5500 or Crime Stoppers at (630) 892-1000.