Man Accused of Skimming PINs at Rancho Peñasquitos Bank

A 49-year-old man has been accused of skimming the PINs of thousands of people at the Chase Bank on Black Mountain Road in Rancho Peñasquitos, causing an estimated loss of more than $100,000.

The man, Daniel Axinte, is believed to be from Los Angeles, Steve Walker, a spokesman for the San Diego County District Attorney's Office, said in an email.

Axinte was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday on multiple counts of identity theft and other crimes.

"This brazen crime is a twist on debit card skimming, perpetrated by an ID thief who wasn't afraid to repeat his crime over and over at the same location," District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis said. "Bank customers had no idea their personal information was being compromised."

Axinte is accused of putting a debit card skimming device on a bank security door and ATMs, and installing covert cameras to capture customers' PINs at the ATMs over the past six weekends. He is believed to have stolen more than 970 compromised ATM/debit cards with an estimated loss of well over $100,000 Dumanis said.

Axinte would use reconfigured debit cards from the stolen personal information and withdraw money from victims' accounts, mostly in $500 increments, Deputy District Attorney Sharla Evert said.

A Chase Bank investigator discovered that an unknown suspect had been putting the debt card skimming device on the security door to the lobby of the Black Mountain Road location and ATMs. After reviewing surveillance videos, the investigator determined the same suspect had installed the skimmer and cameras on five previous weekends. The bank recently notified the San Diego Regional Fraud Task Force about the alleged crimes.

Task force investigators conducted surveillance and arrested Axinte, Dumanis said. 

Customers can help protect themselves by checking the ATM and shielding the key pad so a hidden camera can't capture their PIN, said Scott Christensen of the Secret Service.

People who've used ATMs at the Black Mountain Ranch location anytime over the past six weekends should check their bank receipts and contact Chase, Dumanis said.

City News Service contributed to this report.