Police responded to the Inova Fairfax Hospital Cardiac Care Center yesterday where they removed a skimmer from the ATM machine located in the lobby near the gift shop. They believe thieves attached the skimmer to the machine in late August and have been stealing thousands from unsuspecting employees, patients, friends and family members at the hospital.

Financial crimes detectives were alerted to an issue when they began to receive complaints that ATM cards were being used fraudulently to purchase groceries, expensive coffees, and, primarily, to get cash from other ATM machines. An alert customer spotted the skimming device on the machine and contacted hospital security who immediately called police on Wednesday, September 13. Detectives are investigating four cases now but feel that there are many more victims that have not checked their statements yet and may be unaware they’ve been victimized.

Police report that this crime is on the rise and they urge those that have used the machine in late August through September 12, 2012 to check their statements closely. If they detect a discrepancy, they should contact their bank and police at 703-691-2131. They may also make an online report or learn more about financial crime scams at http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police/financialcrimes/.

There have been no arrests in these cases yet and the investigations are ongoing.