The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) is looking for two suspects accused of an elaborate scheme throughout Southern California in which they distract elderly victims at ATMs and steal their bank cards.
The LAPD Wednesday released photos of the suspects, a bearded man wearing a baseball cap and a woman wearing a white jacket. Police outlined a Jan. 15 incident in which the pair worked “in a coordinated manner.”
The duo targeted an 83-year-old man who was at an ATM on Colorado Boulevard at around 11:35 a.m., according to the LAPD. Investigators believe the suspects distracted the man and stole his bank card. At 1 p.m., the suspects were seen at a local bank on North Fernando Boulevard, withdrawing funds from the victim’s account.
The LAPD warns the suspects have a pattern as they are linked to a series of identity thefts:
They target a victim at an ATM, and one suspect closely watches that victim as they enter their PIN on the ATM keypad.
The same suspect drops a $20 bill behind the victim and taps them on the shoulder to give them the money, as if they dropped it.
Police said that as the victim turns around to get the cash, the second suspect moves in quickly and “removes the victim’s ATM card from the machine and replaces it with a counterfeit card that closely resembles the original.”
The victim unknowingly takes the counterfeit card and leaves from the ATM, unaware their real bank card has been stolen. The suspects then use the stolen ATM card to withdraw thousands of dollars from the victim’s bank account.
The LAPD is working with multiple law enforcement agencies to track down the distraction ID theft scammers. Anyone who recognizes them is urged to reach out to police.