The list of Saline County victims caught up in a stolen pin numbers scam grows to 124.

Salina Police Detective Sergeant David Villanueva tells KSAL News that investigators first learned about the breach on Sunday after four Sunflower Bank customers reported their bank accounts had been compromised by unauthorized cash withdrawals.

As of Wednesday morning, police say 124 Sunflower Bank customers have now had cash stolen electronically from their accounts after someone acquired pin numbers to multiple accounts – and then simply withdrew cash from ATM machines in Newton, Kansas down to Houston, Texas. Police report a couple of withdrawals were also made at ATMs in Kansas City, MO.

How thieves acquired the pin codes – or how many more they possess is the focus of the investigation which is being led by Detective Tim Brown.

 

According to Villanueva, thieves load blank ATM cards with the customers account number and routing information and then punch in the stolen pin code to withdraw the cash.

Investigators report the losses are in the thousands of dollars category for many of the customers.

“The person or persons, just drains all the cash out of the account and then moves on,” Detective Sergeant Villanueva said.

 

Authorities are now working with police in Kansas City, Newton, Burrton, Wichita, Andover, Ardmore, OK, Springer, OK, Norman, OK, Denton, TX and Houston, Texas as the investigation continues to expand.

The bank issued a statement about the issue:

There have been recent reports of fraud in Salina, Kansas and a malware message appearing to come from Sunflower Bank was shared in the news.

We take our security, and the security of our customers very seriously. Upon learning of these reports, we immediately reviewed our security protocols to confirm the issue was not present in our environment. We actively monitor our environment 24/7 to ensure security protocols remain effective. The message that was shared appears to be from pdfmaker-live and is not associated with Sunflower Bank or its websites. Learn about removing this plug-in from your browser here: http://www.myantispyware.com/2018/09/20/how-to-remove-install-pdf-maker-com-pop-up-ads-chrome-firefox-ie-edge/.

We ask that our customers review their accounts regularly and reach out to us if they see anything that looks out-of-the-norm. Combatting fraud is a united effort and our customers are good at partnering with us to help identify and tackle situations as they arise.

All web users should be cognizant of devices they are using, make sure systems are updated regularly, and be cautious of online requests.