ATM Scam Targets Seniors in Upper East Side, Police Say

Authorities have issued warnings about a widespread ATM scam as they investigate a series of thefts involving elderly victims. At least $70,000 has been stolen from seniors’ bank accounts during the spree, which took place across multiple banks in recent weeks.

Surveillance footage has captured two men and a woman at the scenes of three of at least nine similar crimes from May 8 to June 26. The suspects targeted bank locations including Chase, Bank of America, Capital One, and Citibank.

Three of the incidents occurred at the Chase Bank on York Avenue near East 79th Street, where the scammers stole nearly $24,000 from an 86-year-old woman on June 19—the largest single theft in the case. In another two thefts at the same branch, they stole $20,000 from a 90-year-old woman and $3,000 from an 83-year-old woman, both at different times in May.

In one case, the scammers discreetly took an elderly woman’s bank card from the machine without her noticing, then traveled to another Chase on Third Avenue near East 106th Street in East Harlem. There, they attempted to withdraw $5,500, and on the same day, over $6,000 in unauthorized charges appeared on her account after she realized her card was missing.

Police believe some scammers employed a tactic of pretending to assist the victims at ATMs before swiping their cards. In one instance, a 71-year-old man was distracted by a scammer who engaged him in conversation while another took his card during a withdrawal attempt. He later found that his account had been charged with over $6,000.

Fortunately, no elderly victims were injured during these incidents. The police department reports over 750 grand larceny cases—covering credit card theft—in the Upper East Side precinct this year, reflecting a 5.2% increase from last year.