The FBI is still looking for four guys who are thought to have stolen more than $200,000 from more than 300 people through electronic benefit transfers.
The FBI says that all four guys were last seen in Southern California, but they don’t say where in SoCal they were or when.
The government explained in detail how the group put skimmers on point-of-sale systems on all of their wanted pages:
“[The four men] are being sought for their alleged roles in a scheme to cheat people who get federal benefits by putting skimming devices on different California point-of-sale terminals so that thieves could steal money from the victims’ EBT cards.” The suspects are said to have designed and set up skimming devices that could record, store, or send data. These devices were usually small.
Some of these devices could be hidden inside standalone point-of-sale machines, like an ATM or gas station pump, so customers couldn’t see them. They were made to steal information from swiped access devices. A very small camera was also connected to the point-of-sale terminals so that it could record people entering their PIN numbers. The information stolen from or sent by a skimming device could then be used by itself or with another access device to charge someone or take money out of their account without their knowledge, permission, or consent.
The guys are all wanted by the federal government for bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. Each of them was given a federal warrant on April 19, 2023.
If you know where any of these men are, please call the FBI Los Angeles Field Office at 310-477-6565, call the U.S. Embassy or Consulate closest to you, or send your tip online at www.tips.fbi.gov.