TURLOCK, Calif. — A newly engaged couple in Turlock said they just had their bank account drained of thousands of dollars.
"It's not fair. I work very hard for what I have. I always have. She works very hard for what she has, and she always has," said Sean Franck.
Franck and Kristin Bettencourt said they were enjoying their weekend when Franck made the shocking discovery.
"Sean was checking our account, and it was in the negative. So we freaked out, and that's when we had to go into damage control and call the bank," said Bettencourt. "Our account had been completely drained of thousands of dollars."
"For somebody to take everything we had, literally drain our entire account for who knows what? It's disgusting," added Franck.
Bettencourt said their bank thinks they are victims of credit card skimming.
"Most likely our card was skimmed by a card reader at a gas station or some retail establishment. The best that we understand it is they made a copy of his card, and they were able to use it in two different states," said Bettencourt.
Experts said this type of crime is very organized.
"It's a very full-scale operation," said Brad Leopard, U.S. Secret Service special agent. "You have the people who make the devices... then they'll hire a group of people that go into the stores and install the devices, and then you have the people who actually cash out the proceeds, which are the money mules."
Skimming costs consumers more than a billion dollars a year, according to the FBI.
"Technology makes things sometimes safer and better. They also make it easier for criminals, and they're always working on the next front. We stop them one way, and they find another way to do it," said Leopard.
With the bank saying the couple has to wait up to 10 days to get their money back, they have a message for whoever did this.
"Imagine if somebody was doing this to your mom or grandmother or sister. No matter who you are, you come from somebody and you have people," said Franck.
Dominique Sanchez, spokesperson for Turlock Police Department, said police have had at least 35 skimming reports this year alone, most happening in September and October.
As far as what people can do to protect their information, Turlock police encourages people to cover the PIN pad when they use ATMs, look for oddly placed covers, utilize indoor ATMS and use the "tap" feature if possible for a purchase.
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