HELP NEEDED: Thousands stolen from area ATMs in ‘organized effort’

Tens of thousands of dollars have been stolen from ATMs at IH Credit Union in Springfield, Urbana and Clark County in a crime deputies said was a “pretty organized.”

“There’s tens of thousands of dollars of dollars and I think that figure will grow exponentially,” said Det. Scott Cultice with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. “It’ll reach a few hundred thousand dollars eventually I think.”

Cultice said the crimes happened across the county at the credit unions locations between Oct. 26-28.

“We do have video surveillance of a vehicle pulling up and spending several hours withdrawing money from their ATM,” the detective said.  “It looked like it was a pretty organized effort.”

IH Credit Union said none of its members accounts or cards were compromised as a result of the crime, said Tiffany Looney, marketing director for IH Credit Union.

Sheriff’s detectives said the cards used during the crimes were captured by a skimmer on ATMs in Madison and Delaware counties on Oct. 15.

“The information captured by the skimmer in Madison and Delaware counties was information from other financial institutions,” Looney said.  “We are fully insured to cover this loss. This type of fraud is impossible to safe guard against 100 percent, however since this incident we have taken additional steps toward making our ATM’s more secure.”

Cultice said it’s important to inspect ATMs to make sure there is not anything out of the ordinary.  If you see something suspicious, he said you should immediately contact police to check it out.

The vehicles used during the crimes were new SUVs with stolen license plates on them, the detective said. It’s believed a group of people, including men and women, are involved in the crime spree, the detective said.

The Clark County Sheriff’s Office is working with Springfield and Urbana police, as well as other federal and state law enforcement.

None of the people involved have been identified, so no charges have been filed yet.

Anyone who can identify any of the people in the surveillance images is asked to contact law enforcement.

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