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Detectives Investigate Silver Spring Bank Card Scam; Surveillance Photos Released

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, December 24, 2024

Gaithersburg, MD – Detectives from the Montgomery County Department of Police 4th District Patrol Investigative Unit are investigating a bank card scam that took place in early October 2024 at the Bank of America located in the 13700 block of Connecticut Avenue in Silver Spring. Surveillance photos of the suspects have been released, and detectives are asking for the public’s help to identify them.

On Wednesday, October 2, 2024, victim one was at the ATM when he was approached by two unknown suspects. The suspects stated the ATM card slot was broken and advised the victim to use the tap function. One of the suspects then grabbed the victim’s ATM card from the victim’s hand and attempted to show him how to use it. During the demonstration, without the victim knowing, the suspects swapped his bank card with another card and handed it back to the victim. The victim then attempted to use the ATM. Upon entering his pin, the ATM did not work, so the victim went inside the back to complete his transaction. While inside, the victim realized the bank card he currently had in his possession, had a different person’s name on it. The victim then began receiving multiple notifications for withdrawals and fraudulent transactions.

On Friday, October 4, 2024, victim two was at the same location, attempting to use the ATM when he was approached by an unknown suspect. The suspect, again, was able to swap the victim’s bank card with another card. The suspect then observed the victim enter his PIN number into the ATM to withdraw money. After leaving the ATM, the victim began to receive notifications of withdrawals and fraudulent transactions.

Surveillance video shows the same two suspects present during both events. During the event on October 4, the second suspect is seen acting as a lookout while the scam occurs.

Both suspects are described as Hispanic males, who spoke Spanish to the victims.

Detectives urge the community to remain vigilant when approaching and using an ATM and to go inside for transactions if there are suspicious people nearby.
Anyone with information regarding the suspect(s) or this crime is asked to visit the Crime Solvers of Montgomery County, MD website at www.crimesolversmcmd.org and click on the “ www.p3tips.com ” link at the top of the page or call 1-866-411-8477. A reward of up to $10,000 is being offered for information that leads to the arrest of the suspect. Tips may remain anonymous.