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Thieves using devices called "skimmers" have hit at least 10 ATMs in Columbia, Charleston and the Pee Dee this year, said Michael Williams, special agent in charge of the Secret Service's Columbia office.
At least four of the ATMs, including one at the Publix grocery store in Columbia, were struck by crooks tied to an organized criminal gang from Bulgaria, Williams said. That gang also has been tied to ATM skimmers found in Indiana, Ohio, Michigan and Illinois.
The Bulgarian gang also put skimmers on machines at two banks in Charleston -- First Citizens and Bank of America -- and at a First Federal ATM in Florence, Williams said.
Other skimmers have been found at banks and grocery stores, mostly in towns along the I-95 corridor. Williams declined to name the other locations.
The other six South Carolina incidents also could be tied to criminals working out of the Eastern European nation via south Florida, but the Secret Service is still investigating, Williams said.
The number of ATM skimmer cases in South Carolina so far this year already is well past 2009's statewide total of two.
Skimmer scams are rising nationwide, identity theft experts said, with some estimates suggesting incidents are up 50 percent in the past year.
"It's very easily preventable," said Avivah Litan, a Maryland-based analyst with the Gartner research firm who specializes in financial fraud. "If banks just told branches to have employees check the machines and look for anything out of the ordinary."
Skimmer devices read the magnetic strips on ATM cards, including account information and passwords.
They are hard to detect because they look exactly like card readers on the front of ATMs. The bogus readers, placed over readers at ATMs, steal personal data every time a card is inserted.
The scammers put the information that they swipe onto stolen or counterfeit credit cards that can be used anywhere, Williams said.
No losses tied to the recent spree of ATM skimmer incidents have been reported yet, he said.
The Secret Service has recovered half the skimmer devices used on South Carolina ATMs this year.
Crooks typically use card information quickly to get money before customers check their monthly statements, the Secret Service said. But recently more crooks are waiting months to use stolen numbers, Litan said
In the end, however, consumers must keep checking their statements for unauthorized charges, theft experts said.
"You're on your own," said Robert Siciliano, chief executive of Boston-based IDTheftSecurity.com.
