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Grand Larcenies Up in Astoria Due to ATM and Identity Scams, Police Say

 Thieves put skimming devices on ATMs to steal users' card and PIN information, according to police.
Thieves put skimming devices on ATMs to steal users' card and PIN information, according to police.
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DNAinfo/Katie Honan

ASTORIA — Keep an eye on your bank accounts.

Grand larcenies are up in the 114th Precinct, thanks largely to an increase in identity theft incidents, including people's debit card information being stolen through ATM skimming devices, according to police.

At the precinct's monthly meeting Tuesday, Deputy Inspector Peter Fortune said grand larcenies saw an uptick of nearly 72 percent, with 67 incidents in the last 28 days compared to 39 during the same period last year.

The 114th precinct covers Astoria, Long Island City, Woodside and Jackson Heights.

Of those crimes, 24 were what he called "unattendeds" — when people have their bags, wallets or other property swiped after walking away from it or not keeping an eye on it.

The precinct also had 26 identity thefts reported this month, compared to just seven this time last year, a more than 200 percent jump, according to Fortune.

"That is the major, major issue," he said. "This isn't just a 114th Precinct thing. We're seeing this throughout the city."

Some of these were the result of ATM "skimming," where thieves install largely unnoticeable devices on cash machines which are able to record people's card information and PIN numbers.

"If you saw it, you would never in a million years realize what it was," Fortune said.

A few weeks ago, a skimmer device was found at a gas station ATM on Astoria Boulevard and 33rd Street — discovered only after the device fell off the machine when the customer tried to swipe his card, according to Fortune.

Police have advised ATM users to closely examine and pull on the machine's card readers to check for potential theft devices before using them.

"See if anything looks strange," the deputy inspector said.

According to Fortune, the precinct also saw nine reports this month from people who had fraudulent credit cards opened under their names, often the result of thieves stealing residents' mail to obtain birth dates and other personal information.

Mail like this should always be shredded before it's thrown out, Fortune advised.

For those interested in learning more about how to avoid identity theft, the NYPD's Grand Larceny Division will give a presentation about it at the precinct's next Community Council meeting, which will take place on May 24.