Money Stolen From Suffolk County National Bank Customers' Accounts
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Several Suffolk County National Bank customers had their money stolen right out of their accounts Tuesday.
All day long, distraught customers were seen walking into branches of Suffolk County National Bank to find out what happened to their money, CBS2's Ali Bauman reported.
Some customers were alerted by the bank, others, like Cathy and Tom Curley, discovered the theft themselves when they noticed several thousands of dollars missing from their checking account.
"You panic when you first see it," Cathy said.
Ashley Kjarbo said both her and her husband's accounts were robbed.
"Two different charges of over $1,900 dollars at two different ATMs," she said. "He immediately looked at his and saw three different charges for a total of over $1,600."
Bank officials told CBS2 they are investigating how the thefts occurred, but customers say bank officials told them thieves stole information from their ATM debit cards and then created new cards, which they used at branches of other banks.
One victim said she last used her card at a nearby gas station pump, but attendants there said there was no evidence of tampering.
The Curleys called it a mystery.
"The only ATMs that we make withdrawals from werehere at the bank, nothing looked suspicious there. I always check for card scanners," Tom said.
Suffolk County National Bank said it will cover all unauthorized withdrawals, but customers must come in to verify the fraudulent charges.
"I had to cancel the card, I had to wait 10 days to get a new one, I had to wait over a week to get my money back. It's my mortgage money, it's to pay off my credit card bills for the rest of the money," Kjarbo said.
She said she had to withdraw money from her savings to get by, and now she plans to switch banks.
Bank officials say they have already recovered some customers' money and are working quickly to restore all that was stolen. They have not confirmed exactly how many customers were affected.
