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Brazen Scammers Target LIRR Riders With Ticket Machine Cameras

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Long Island Rail Road vending machines are a quick and easy way for thousands of riders to get tickets.

However, investigators fear that some passengers may have been taken for a ride before even getting on a train, CBS 2's Don Champion reported Friday night.

Seven tiny hidden cameras were found attached to a number of machines in view of the credit and debit cards of riders.

The scam was discovered by Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police detectives. Riders were shocked.

"To know people are trying to scam you. It certainly adds a layer of discomfort," LIRR rider Samantha Isaacs said.

"It takes a certain kind of person to come up with something like that. You really can't stop everything, but it's a shame that people like that exist," Lee Schneider added.

The cameras have been found at the Bayside and Great Neck stations on the Port Washington branch, the Merillon Avenue station on the Huntington/Port Jefferson branch, and at Greenvale on the Oyster Bay branch.

MTA police have urged LIRR customers who bought tickets from vending machines with debit or credit cards to contact their bank or credit card company to check for any unauthorized activity.

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