ATM Card Thieves Target Lockers at Health Clubs

Thieves, possibly working in groups, are targeting fitness buffs in health clubs, stealing their automated teller machine cards and then using them to get money or establish credit under an assumed name, police said Wednesday.

The thieves break into lockers and take purses and wallets. They then call the victims at the health club or at home pretending to be a bank official to get the personal identification numbers for teller machines, official said.

Anaheim police detective Kelly Jung said five incidents have been reported there, and similar ones have occurred in Buena Park, Orange and Newport Beach. The problem may be more widespread, he said.

“Most people leave their PIN numbers in their wallets,” Jung said. “When personal information is tucked away in a locker and not readily available to see, I think we are lulled into a false sense of security. People need to realize that if someone wants to get into a locker, they will.”

Among the victims was 44-year-old Dorothy Spint of Anaheim, whose purse was stolen from a locker at a fitness club. A woman who called Spint at home identified herself as a bank employee and said she was concerned about high amounts charged to Spint’s account. Spint said her card had been stolen earlier that day.

Spint said the woman asked her if she wanted a new personal identification number, and when Spint declined, the woman asked for her number, which she gave.

“It was stupid. But the police said that these criminals are very good at what they do,” she said.

When she later called the bank, “they told me that no one is allowed to ask for PIN numbers,” Spint said. “I was naive.”