ATM Identity Theft Ring Busted in Miami

MIAMI, FL -- Police in Florida say they've broken an ATM theft ring that stretched from Jacksonville to Miami.

Miami Beach police say that thieves planted electronic devices inside ATMs to steal credit card and PIN numbers.

Under arrest are four Bulgarian nationals, including their ringleader Nikolai Arabov of Hallandale Beach, Florida.

The other three men are identified as Diyan Dobrev, Stanmir Kolev and Denislav Filipoc.

Police say the men are charged with credit card fraud and identity fraud.

Police say that when customers used one of the rigged ATMs, a device hooked up to a hard drive and installed inside the actual machine captured their credit card number, while a tiny camera installed inside the speaker recorded individual pin numbers.

The thieves would later go back and retrieve the hard drive information and match credit cards with pin numbers.

"If you look at this device, it is the actual camera," one police officer said. "These are holes in the actual ATM speakers system."

"Bank accounts have been electronically looted like this, and $2 million has been lost over the last year or so", police said.

Federal agents are also looking to build a case because they say the men may have crossed state lines; operating as far north as New Jersey.