RICHLAND, Wash.-- Unfortunately for many Tri-Cities residents, another round of card skimming is making its way through the region, with dozens of people reporting that has has been taking out of their accounts with cloned debit cards.

The Richland Police Department is currently investigating 15 cases of fraud, resulting in cash being withdrawn from customer accounts from an ATM, using the victim's debit card information after the data has been collected during a previous debit card transaction.

"The skimmers these days have bluetooth technology, so they will collect the information, it will capture your PIN as you enter it, and transmit it via bluetooth to the location where they are, which could be just around the corner from the convenience store," said Detective Sergeant Drew Florence with the Richland Police Department.

Florence says you can run your debit card as a credit card, which will avoid exposing your PIN. While it may not prevent thieves from using your card to make fraudulent purchases, it will keep them from draining your bank account of cash.

Skimmers have gotten more sophisticated, and while in the past you might have been able to pull skimmer devices off a key pad or gas pump, newer devices are installed inside the pump, and are much harder to detect.

Florence said he's not aware of any skimmers being found in Richland in this latest rash of fraud, but knows that Pasco and Kennewick are also conducting investigations that may be related to Richland's cases.

Earlier this week, Richland Police arrested a 34-year old man after a fraud victim notified them that their debit card and PIN were being used at a nearby drug store. Officers arrived in time to detain a suspect, who had 46 gift cards with potential cloned information on them.

If you believe you are the victim of account fraud, you can contact your local police department through the non-emergency dispatch number, 509-628-0333.

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