By Bruce Frazier, DPD:

The Dalton Police Department is releasing information about the suspect vehicle involved in the placement of a card skimmer device last week at the Walnut Avenue/Tibbs Road Regions bank.  The suspect vehicle is a burgundy or red Audi.  A picture of the suspect vehicle is attached with this release.

At approximately 6:45 pm last Thursday evening, an Audi sedan pulled up into the drive through ATM and the driver placed the “skimmer” device over the card reader and pulled away.  No details about the driver can be determined from the security camera, as he or she was wearing a hood while driving through. The red or burgundy Audi in this case has a distinctive  black tag on the front with some sort of graphic design.  Investigators are hoping that someone will recognize this vehicle and contact the Dalton Police Department.

A “skimmer” is a device inserted over the top of the ATM card reader which reads and stores card information that can later be used by a hacker. The “skimmer” was discovered on Friday morning by a bank employee after the device triggered an ATM alarm.  In this case, the device was nearly identical to the card reader on the ATM, only slightly larger and designed to fit over the top of the card reader.  A small hole in the left side of the device’s frame houses a pinhole camera which is aimed to record the keystrokes on the ATM keypad.  A picture of the device is included with this release.

Anyone who used this ATM between Thursday evening or Friday morning (October 13-14) should monitor their accounts to watch for fraudulent activity.  Report any possible fraud to the bank and the police department.  This is the only instance of this type of scam in Dalton, but it is being reported in other areas.  Citizens should be on the lookout for devices which have been tampered with.  If the card reader appears to be loose or tampered with, notify the bank or police immediately.

Anyone with information on the red or burgundy Audi or this crime is asked to please contact Detective Ricky Long at 706-278-9085, extension 168.