CLEARWATER, Fla. — The Clearwater Police Department (CPD) is warning residents not to use ATMs if the card slot appears jammed, as it is part of a growing scam across the state.
CPD said quarters, metal, or paper are put in the card slot to jam the machine.
A person will then try to use the machine, and the suspect, acting as a good Samaritan, will approach and help them use the tap function.
The suspect will switch the victim's card with another one and memorize the PIN.
CPD said the suspects will then go to other ATMs, use the card, and steal money.
CPD said one victim called the police about being a victim of a jammed machine scam, and a quick responding officer was able to catch the suspects red-handed at the bank on Sunset Point Road and Old Coachman Road, CPD said.
Brandon E.A. Castillo, 25, and Andrew J. Llactas Jimenez, 20, both face two counts of scheming to defraud and one count of criminal mischief and were booked into the Pinellas County Jail.
There were at least four victims from that Clearwater bank, CPD said. Detectives believe this scam has happened at other locations in Pinellas County and across the state.
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