Five men arrested over ATM skimmingMarch 25, 2009 - 10:54PM
Five men, all thought to be Romanian, have been arrested over an ATM skimming scam in Melbourne's CBD.
Police are investigating links with another skimming incident uncovered on Wednesday at a shopping centre in the city's bayside suburbs.
On Tuesday, the ANZ bank reported more than $500,000 had been stolen from up to 5,000 cards using a skimming device attached for at least a month to an ANZ ATM at the corner of Collins and Elizabeth streets in central Melbourne.
Police said the high-tech devices were typically attached near the card slot in a position customers do not readily notice, with an optical mechanism to view PINs and record financial details.
Detective Senior Constable Brett Colley said three devices had been discovered at unnamed ATMs in King Street, and said he expected more would be found across Melbourne.
Similar devices have been detected in NSW, Queensland and New Zealand, he said.
Late on Wednesday, police announced the arrest of five men at West Melbourne over what they described as "a number of theft and deceptions from ATMs in the city's CBD".
The men are being questioned by Melbourne CIU detectives.
A search uncovered a skimming device and items used to assist in the placement of these devices on ATMs, a Victoria Police spokeswoman said.
They are investigating possible links between the men and another skimming incident at the Patterson Lakes Shopping Centre in Chelsea on Tuesday.
A mobile phone attached above a Commonwealth Bank ATM screen at the centre fell to the footpath about 9.30am (AEDT) on Tuesday, police said.
The phone was set up to record video, while a skimming device had been attached to the ATM.
Three men were seen near the ATM shortly before the woman went to use it.
Police recovered the camera but say the offenders returned to the ATM to remove the skimming device before police could get there.