Delayed Draining with the Debit

Over the July 4th weekend at least 75 depositors at Pierce County Citizens' Bank (Washington) found their accounts drained. It isn't unusual that this happened over a three-day weekend. The thieves know that a bank's response time is delayed when communication with staff is more difficult. What is unusual here is that the police have identified how the debit card data was obtained, and when. A gas station had a skimmer installed that collected this data, in August 2007. It was collected almost a year before it was used.

The number of victims and losses to the bank are sure to grow since this initial report was released. The media is putting consumers on notice who may have used that particular gas station during that time, and Crime Stoppers is offering a reward for information.