Skimming device found at Sonoma Bank of America

Police said hundreds of thousands of dollars could be taken with a single device. “Our hope is that they didn't get anything,” Sgt. McKinnon said.|

A security guard for the Bank of America at 35 W. Napa St. discovered a “skimming device,” a small device used to steal data from bank cards, attached to an ATM on Wednesday, March 1, at 10:47 a.m., McKinnon said.

The security guard removed the skimming device from the ATM, and Sonoma Police met with the bank manager to discuss an investigation into the crime. McKinnon said the device had two parts: a mirrored piece to record bank users’ pin numbers and a thin card reader that records bank cards as they enter the ATM.

Bank of America and Sonoma Police are reviewing video footage from the scene.

McKinnon has previous experience in law enforcement investigating the use of skimming devices, and he said hundreds of thousands of dollars could be taken with a single device.

“It could be pretty lucrative for some of these suspects, depending on how much of that information they're getting. Our hope is that they didn't get anything,” McKinnon said. “Kudos to the security guard.”

See all of this week’s crime updates here.

Contact Chase Hunter at chase.hunter@sonomanews.com and follow @Chase_HunterB on Twitter.

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.