POLICE say the usual method of ATM scammers is to attach a device to the ATM that can swipe card information. The Jamaica Constabulary Force is warning ATM users to manually cover the keypad at the ATM while using it – to hide the card PIN (personal identification number), making it difficult for any device attached to the machine to pick up the number.

The police say that even if the scammers clone an ATM bank or credit card, they will not be able to remove a customer’s cash from the ATM, unless they also have the PIN attached to the card.

Two Romanians who authorities believed to be connected to an international ATM fraud scam were denied entry into the island last week

Jamaican police intelligence have come upon evidence connecting to Romanians in the island that are known internally and in other Caribbean Islands to be involved in ATM fraud. They are known for attaching devices to ATM machines across the county and depleting person’s bank account.

These scammers have spread to the Antigua, Barbados, Cayman Island, Columbia, Canada, and now Jamaica.