ATMs In Bloomfield, Cedar Grove Hit In Fraud Wave: Police – Bloomfield, NJ Patch

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Santander Bank ATMs in Bloomfield and Cedar Grove were among those hit in a wave of fraud incidents across the state, authorities said.

Tens of thousands of dollars have allegedly been stolen from cash machines in Bergen, Mercer, Middlesex, Essex, Hudson, Morris and Union counties. The scam stems from a glitch in Santander Bank ATMs, which allowed the suspects to use prepaid debit cards to make continuous withdrawals of cash, prosecutors said.

In recent weeks, people have been arrested at Santander banks all over New Jersey.

Recent incidents have taken place in Bloomfield and Cedar Grove.

BLOOMFIELD

According to the Bloomfield Police Department:

“On Monday, Aug. 17 at approximately 11:15 p.m., Bloomfield police officers observed unusual activity at Santander Bank ATMs located at 667 Bloomfield Avenue and 1027 Broad Street in town. On Tuesday, Aug. 18, between 3 and 4:30 a.m., officers conducted multiple motor vehicle stops on vehicles whose occupants were observed attempting to access the ATMs. After the officer’s investigation and no response from Santander Bank, all information was gathered and was forwarded to the Bloomfield Detective Bureau for further investigation. All were released from the bank parking lot.”

Bloomfield police continued:

“On Tuesday Aug. 18 at 10 a.m., Santander Bank’s security department called in [about] suspicious activity and numerous individuals at their ATM machine at 667 Bloomfield Avenue. Upon police arrival, patrol officers located four individuals leaving the ATM in a hurry and walking towards a silver vehicle parked in the lot. Based off recent fraudulent transactions at several Santander banks that were occurring statewide, all four males were detained and identified. After an investigation, four males were identified and will be charged with credit card theft and fraud.”

CEDAR GROVE

According to the Cedar Grove Police Department:

“On Aug. 18, officers responded numerous times to the Santander Bank located at 532 Pompton Avenue for suspicious activity. The first incident occurred in the early morning hours when an officer observed a suspicious BMW with New York license plates leaving the bank parking lot. This vehicle was later involved in a theft from a bank branch located in Bloomfield. A second incident was reported at 9:14 a.m. when the branch manager reported four males acting suspicious around the ATM when he opened the bank. The subjects left prior to police arrival leaving behind a prepaid debit card. Officers responded back to the bank at 1:34 p.m., on a report of suspicious activity around the ATM. The manager reported that a subject had just left the ATM and entered a vehicle. He provided a description of the vehicle which was located and stopped.”

Cedar Grove police continued:

“A subsequent investigation led to the arrest of three males from New York. They were found to be in possession of multiple credit cards, a large quantity of cash and more than five ounces of marijuana. They were all processed and released with a summons to appear in Superior Court. The incident appears to be connected to a wide spread ATM scam that has occurred at numerous Santander Bank branches in the Tri-State area. The FBI is involved in the investigation.”

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