Two Kirkland Residents Arrested in "Skimming" Investigation

Two Kirkland residents, one a Romanian allegedly living in the United States illegally, have been arrested by a federal task force investigating electronic “skimming” of bank accounts from automatic teller machines.

Ismail Sali and Eugen Tirca, the Romanian national, were arrested last week by the task force led by the U.S. Secret Service, according to a press release from the United States District Attorney’s office in Seattle.

They were the latest of six people arrested for allegedly using skimming devices that record account data from customers using bank machines.

“The suspects arrested over the last few weeks account for more than $1 million in losses to banks and consumers,”  said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan, who chairs the Justice Department’s Cybercrime and Intellectual Property Enforcement group. “We believe that with this most recent arrest, we have located and dismantled the nerve center of one of the most prolific rings, which used illegal immigrants from Romania to commit the frauds.”

The task force seized forms for making card skimmers, fake face plates for ATM machines, gift cards and electronic equipment for encoding stolen account data onto the cards.

At the Kirkland home where Sali and Tirca live, investigators found documents linking Sali to defendants who have previously been arrested and prosecuted for skimming activity, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.

The two are charged with possession of access device equipment. If convicted, they could serve up to ten years in prison and could have to pay a $250,000 fine.

Both remain in custody, Emily Langlie, a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office, said Tuesday. Tirca faces a detention hearing Wednesday in U.S. District Court.

Sali, a naturalized U.S. citizen originally from Romania, was ordered held as a flight risk during a detention hearing Monday. Langlie said it was revealed at the hearing that Sali has a wife and children living in Romania.

U.S. Attorney Durkan herself was a recent victim of skimming while using an ATM, according to this report on KING5 TV.

Her office and the Secret Service offer the following tips to bank machine users:

• If the access door to a lobby ATM is broken, don’t use the ATM; go somewhere else.

• If there is more than one ATM, and a sign has been placed on one of the units saying it is out of service, go somewhere else. The sign could be an attempt to direct traffic to the machine where skimming equipment is installed.

• Check the machine before putting your card in -- is the card slot securely in the machine? Has anything been installed around the edges of the machine that could conceal a camera? Is any glue or sticky substance around the key pad or card slot?

• Always attempt to cover your hand when you enter your PIN so that if there is a camera, the numbers cannot be captured.

• Watch your account activity and report any unauthorized credit or debit charges immediately.