Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
An investigation was underway as of Tuesday evening after fraud incidents at ATMs connected to Santander Bank.
Middletown Township police said they had several suspects detained and investigators were still sorting out all the details. The suspects were held after incidents at the Santander Bank at the Shoppes at Flowers Mill shopping center.
Law enforcement sources said calls came in throughout Bucks County of frauds at Santander Bank ATMs throughout Tuesday. The frauds were similar to cases throughout the East Coast.
The Bucks County District Attorney’s Office said they were still working to gather information.
NJ.com reported that dozens had been arrested in the Garden State for alleged involvement in the scheme. Neighboring Mercer County, New Jersey, according to the Daily Voice, arrested close to 20 people.
The New York Post reported that a manhunt was launched for suspects accused of being involved in a similar scam.
Sgt. Mark Cleverdon, of the South Windsor, Connecticut, Police Department said the frauds were also happening in his area. He said the suspects were using fake debit cards and withdrawing funds from ATMs operated by Santander Bank.
Law enforcement and banking sources said it appears that crooks were using a glitch at Santander Bank ATMs to withdraw amounts of cash that they were not entitled to, possibly using cloned debit cards. Significant sums of money were withdrawn from ATMs at Santander Banks.
“Santander Bank learned of suspicious activity involving some of our branch-based ATMs. Out of an abundance of caution, we have temporarily closed these ATMs and they will be back on-line as soon as possible. Additionally, some branches may have an additional security presence and/or be temporarily closed for security reasons,” Santander Bank said in a statement to NBC News.
“We are continuing to cooperate with law enforcement as they investigate this situation and apologize for any customer inconvenience. As we work to expeditiously resolve this situation, our customers should know that there is no impact to their accounts or funds, which can be accessed online, using our digital app, in our branches or at non-branch ATMs,” they added.
As of Tuesday at 8:30 p.m., no charges had been filed in connection with the incidents in Middletown Township.
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