Baytown ATM skimmer operation spreads to Houston; behind the scenes with detective
HOUSTON - A Houston police investigation led to charges being filed on a woman accused of putting ATM skimmers in two area ATM's.
One at an ATM on Northwest Freeway and Fairbanks North Houston Road, the other on FM 1960 and Cypress Woods Medical Drive, according to court records.
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Records show Ana Dirman is charged in the case, and they indicate she has ties to the Baytown skimmer operation FOX 26 previously reported on.
Financial Crime Detective Haley Hammes is the investigator who helped put two suspects behind bars in that case.
She doesn't work on the Houston case and can't speak about it, but knows the in-depth details of how the criminals on her case operate and the devices they use.
"We were working with other law enforcement agencies like the Houston Police Department, Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center and the Secret Service," she said.
She says these skimmers are deep insert skimmers that a suspect inserts into an ATM terminal.
Along the outside of the ATM, a camera system is installed. The camera is the size of a pinhole and is meant to capture you putting your pin in.
Once data is gathered, the skimmers are retrieved and the information is loaded onto blank cards.
"So when they go to remove the skimmer, it looks like they're installing a card, then swipe, and they're gone," she said.
She says the best way to avoid thieves stealing your card information is to use the tap option on your smartphone or card when using an ATM.
She also encourages users to report suspicious behavior if you see it at an ATM.
The investigation in both cases is ongoing.