ATM cards pirated for plenty, police say

Using small cameras and secretly-installed ATM card readers, a thief stole private bank card information from more than 400 ATM users in Greater Boston and withdrew at least $400,000 from their accounts over the past two years, police alleged yesterday.

Ioan Emil Codarcea, a Romanian national, allegedly mounted the spy cameras and magnetic card readers on ATM machines in communities throughout the region, including Canton, Cambridge, Needham, Wellesley, and Woburn.

The magnetic card readers -- which looked legitimate -- were sometimes installed on the doors leading to the ATM machines. Other times they were mounted on top of an ATM's actual card reader. They recorded users' card information while the cameras captured images of users punching in their PIN numbers, which were transmitted to Codarcea's laptop computer, police said.

Armed with the information, Codarcea duplicated the magnetic strips and produced his own ATM cards, attaching a sticker on each where he scribbled the PIN number, police said. Working with accomplices, he then visited cash machines in downtown Boston and along Route 1, and withdrew cash from the accounts, they said.

Many customers, police said, were not aware they were being victimized until their banks notified them. Police did not name the banks involved, but said the customers were reimbursed for the money stolen.

Police say this type of theft, known as skimming, is becoming increasingly common.

''Too many people are getting the hang of this stuff -- it's going from organized crime" to common criminals, said Detective Steven Blair of the Boston Police Department's special investigations unit. ''You can buy the equipment for under $1,000, and it's all available on eBay."

Codarcea, 35, is scheduled to be arraigned today in Boston Municipal Court on charges including 15 counts of identity fraud, 15 counts of credit card fraud, and larceny over $250.

Blair said luck played a role in the capture of Codarcea.

Border agents arrested him May 1, when he crossed into Vermont from Canada, allegedly trying to smuggle six undocumented Pakistanis into the country, police said.

By that point, Boston police had a warrant for his arrest. Police would not detail how they zeroed in on Codarcea, but said they had trailed him and taken photos of him as he visited ATMs to install the equipment or retrieve the magnetic card readers loaded with account data. They worked with a number of other police departments, including Manchester, N.H., where they say Codarcea also struck.

Police did not release the exact locations of all the dozen or so ATMs they said were involved. The alleged scam began in March 2003, they said.

Codarcea, who police said has ties to Russian organized crime, allegedly scoped out ATMs in affluent towns, often at locations where he could park in an adjacent lot to monitor images sent by the cameras to the screen of his laptop. He apparently didn't work alone. Blair said investigators have video images of Codarcea teaching accomplices how to install the equipment.

Police said their investigation continues, and other arrests may result. Codarcea and his accomplices, whom police did not describe, apparently stayed in hotels along Route 1 in Massachusetts after sneaking into the country from Canada. They often drained accounts from ATMs near their hotels, Blair said.

Sometimes, Codarcea even transferred money from mortgage accounts to checking accounts, Blair said.

As for how ATM users can protect themselves, Blair said, they should look around the automated teller they are using for ''anything that doesn't look right," and lean over or use a hand to hide the keypad from others' view as they punch in their codes.

''I'm a little paranoid now," he said.

Similar crimes have been reported in recent years from California to Florida to New York. Blair said Codarcea is wanted in Canada in cases involving similar ATM fraud.

In October 2002, Boston police arrested two Colombian nationals for using skimming devices to steal ATM and credit card information from unsuspecting bank customers.

Codarcea was held yesterday at a South Boston police station.

David Abel can be reached at dabel@globe.com