Rye Brook Police Arrest Man for Tampering with ATM at Rye Ridge Shopping Center

Rye Brook Police have arrested a Queens man for placing a credit and debit card skimming device at an ATM machine in Rye Brook in an apparent attempt to steal personal account information.

Police arrested 31-year-old Razvan Apostol on August 27 for allegedly placing a skimming device on the ATM card reader at Chase Bank in the Rye Ridge Shopping Center on 150 South Ridge Street. Apostol also installed a small video camera concealed within the reflective mirror above the ATM keypad, police said.

The mirror with the video camera matches the other legitimate mirrors commonly found on the upper right and left hand corners of most ATM's. The camera allows identity thieves to record the personal identification number of anyone using the ATM, while the skimming device captures credit card and/or debit card numbers recorded on the magnetic strip of the card, police said.

Police said these numbers allow alleged identity thieves like Apostol to steal the identities of bank customers.

Apostol, a Romanian citizen who came to the U.S. in May, is accused of tampering with the Chase Bank ATM on several different occasions throughout this month. Police also suspect him of committing the same crimes at Chase Bank locations throughout the New York City area.

Rye Brook Police Chief Greg Austin said J.P Morgan Chase Corporate Security notified his department about the incident. He said Rye Brook Police pinpointed Apostol as a suspect using information from other local police departments that were investigating ATM tampering.

Apostol is being charged with criminal possession of forgery devices, a class D Felony, which carries a maximum sentence of two and a half years. He is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 1.

The police said the investigation is ongoing and are engouraging anyone who may have used the ATM at Chase Bank in the Rye Ridge Shopping Center to monitor their accounts and report suspicious activity to their bank branch and the police department.