Skimming Device Located on ATM at Manchester Bank

MANCHESTER, CT — Manchester police on Wednesday said they are investigating the installation of an skimming device on an automated teller machine at a United Bank branch.

The branch is located at 341 Broad St. and the incident was reported on Feb. 5, police said.

Theskimming device was a green rubberized attachment that was installed over the regular

card slot on the ATM, police said.

Pictures of the skimmer have been distributed to the media.

United Bank is in the process of notifying potential affected customers as well as trying to determine exactly when the device might have been installed, police said.

Several other banks in the state have recently experienced similar situations, police said.

Stand-alone ATMs, gas pumps, restaurants/bars and department stores are also common places where skimming devices are typically installed, police said.

Here are some safety tips from police:

• Jiggle the Card Reader: If the card reader moves around when you try to jiggle it with your hand, something probably isn’t right. A real card reader should be attached to the ATM so well that it won’t move around — a skimmer overlaid over the card reader may move around.
• Look at the ATM Machine: Take a quick look at the ATM machine. Does anything look a bit out-of-place? Perhaps the bottom panel is a different color from the rest of the machine because it’s a fake piece of plastic placed over the real bottom panel and the keypad. Perhaps there’s an odd-looking object that contains a camera.
• Examine the Keypad: Does the keypad look a bit too thick, or different from how it usually looks if you’ve used the machine before? It may be an overlay over the real keypad.
• Check for Cameras: Consider where an attacker might hide a camera — somewhere above the screen or keypad, or even in the brochure holder on the machine.

If anyone witnessed suspicious activity in the area of the United Bank’s ATM, they can contact Manchester police 860-645-5510.

Photo Credit: MPD