Debit card skimming scams hundreds in Winnipeg

CORRECTION: An earlier version of the story incorrectly stated that the card skimming happened at an ATM. In fact, it was a point-of-sale device.

WINNIPEG — The bank accounts of hundreds of Manitobans were drained over the weekend, after a card-skimming device was attached to a Winnipeg point-of-sale device.

The debit-card scam and spending blitz by fraudsters happened Saturday night and early Sunday.

“We know that debit cards have limits, so the majority of our members have daily limits of $400, and so there was a skim that happened late Saturday night and then one that happened early Sunday morning, so on average, maybe the most that people could have got skimmed was $800, but that doesn’t account for people that might have had a limit that was larger than that,” Kim Wentz of the Cambrian Credit Union said Monday.

Card-skimming devices were used to steal banking information from the card’s magnetic strip when using a point-of-sale device, and the information was duplicated on a new card. That duplicate was then used to remove funds from affected accounts.

Winnipeg Police are investigating the card-skimming. The best way to keep yourself from falling victim to scams is to change your PIN several times a year, police said.

“You should be changing your PIN all the time, in this day and age. I think it’s an easy way of ensuring or assisting in not being a victim,” Winnipeg police spokesman Eric Hofley said Monday. “If they skim that information and in the meantime you change that PIN, they can’t access it.”

At Cambrian Credit Union, hundreds of members had their banking information compromised. Customers’ account information at other financial institutions has also been compromised.

“We’re working today to notify all our affected members that may have been compromised by this debit-card skimming, and we’re working with them with next steps, which includes reissuing debit cards with new PINs for those who did experience loss,” Wentz said Monday.

The card-skimming incident became public knowledge after a tweet from NDP MLA Erin Selby, who said her bank account was drained from an ATM in New York.

Cambrian Credit Union said they would restore all money lost from the scam by the end of the day Monday.

“Just be vigilant with your bank accounts, and keep an eye on them and always be monitoring them, and if you see anything suspicious in your account, then notify your financial institution,” Wentz said.