New York

Arrests Made in Debit Card Skimming at Montgomery County ATMs

Police say debit card information from 182 customers was compromised over eight separate days between Aug. 11 and Aug. 26 when skimming devices were placed on the ATM at the Citizens Bank at 1359 Old York Road in Abington.

Two suspects are currently in custody for allegedly installing skimming devices to ATMs in Abington, Upper Moreland, Springfield, and Cheltenham Townships, according to Abington Police.

Police say debit card information from 182 customers was compromised over eight separate days between Aug. 11 and Aug. 26 when skimming devices were placed on the ATM at the Citizens Bank at 1359 Old York Road in Abington.

The same suspects also installed matching devices on the ATM at the Beneficial Bank on 1601 The Fairway in Jenkintown, the Citizen’s Bank at 1919 Easton Road in Willow Grove, police said.

Similar Crimes being investigated by the New York Police Department led detectives from Abington and Upper Moreland Police Departments to travel to New York and assist in executing search warrants at two suspects’ apartments in Queens, according to investigators.

Detectives found approximately $16,000 cash, several hundred VISA and store gift cards, and supplies used to manufacture their own skimming devices, Abington Police said.

Officials say the devices used would duplicate the account information from the card’s magnetic strip and a small camera would capture the PIN input.

Bogdan Gheorghe Stoica, 36, and Janos Mihalka, 36, of Queens were arrested in connection to the theft and are currently in custody at the New York Police Department.

A Montgomery County warrant was filed charging both suspects with 761 counts of alleged Access Device Fraud and 184 counts of alleged identity theft.

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