DU QUOIN, IL (WSIL) - In 2022, nearly 200,000 people had their identity stolen through an ATM skimmer. That’s five times more than the prior year. Now one local bank is helping their customers who recently became victims of a skimmer.
Banterra Bank discovered skimmers on three of the location’s ATMs over the weekend. Those include Marion, West Frankfort, and Du Quoin.
“If I have to use the ATM, I will definitely be checking,� said Jordan Smith, who fell victim to a skimmer.
Smith said she discovered something was wrong with her bank card when she visited a local store and her card was declined.
“I wasn’t expecting it to be declined, obviously,� Smith said.
Officials with Banterra Bank say these skimmers were quickly found and removed with less than 1 percent of their customers impacted.
“I was very worrisome and I really just wanted answers,� said Smith.
She said she checked her account on her mobile app and that’s when she learned her money was gone, but because it was a Saturday afternoon, she wasn’t able to contact customer service.
“At that point, it was too late,� said Smith. “They [Banterra Bank] were closed.�
About $200 was taken from Smith’s account. When Monday came around and Banterra opened, Smith said she was able to get the matter resolved fairly quickly.
“They were good about canceling my card,� Smith explained. “And then we already have the funds back into our account.�
Because Smith didn’t discover the loss of her money until around 2:30 Saturday afternoon, by the time she called Banterra’s customer care, they were already closed and she wasn’t able to reach anyone.
“I am grateful that the money is back into our account and it was done promptly.�
Smith hopes more can be done to let customers know if something like this were to happen again.
“There was really nothing I could do,� said Smith, “no information where I could get why it was showing there was a withdrawal.�
When it comes to how Smith will use her bank card from now on, she says, she’ll be more careful.
“My husband even told me, ‘I always pull on the canners and stuff like that,’� said Smith. “I guess I never would have thought it would happen to us or even thought about it.�
Officials with Banterra Bank say there are several ways to keep your account safe. Be sure to check your account online regularly. They also say, to let the bank know if you see any strange activity on your account, and if you see anything unusual happening at an ATM, report it immediately.
