SALT LAKE CITY—Two people have been arrested here on charges of using a “skimmer” on a local credit union’s ATM to capture member data.
They are believed to be involved in similar fraud at other institutions. Police have charged Alexandru and Ionela Stefan with access device fraud for allegedly obtaining members’ plastic card information data using a skimmer on the ATM at a Deseret First Credit Union in Sandy Utah. It is believed they intended to sell the captured information.
If convicted, Alexandru and Ionela Stefan each could be sentenced up to 15 years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of up to $250,000.
The pair were identified by the FBI Cyber Task Force in connection with fraud at ATMs in Orem and Sandy, Utah. According to police, another man believed to be connected to the Stefans can be seen on ATM surveillance, and a fourth person is believed to have made purchases in Salt Lake City using the compromised accounts.
The Stefans have Romanian citizenship but have been living in Southern California.