Police seek suspects in local credit, debit card abuse incidents

Police say they’ve received a rash of reports of credit and debit card abuse in Woodway and surrounding areas and Friday they released photos of some people they'd like to talk to in connection with the incidents.

“These suspects appear to be working in pairs and are spending some time at bank ATM machines using reproduced debit cards and stolen pins,” police said Thursday in a Facebook post.

"These thieves have made off with thousands of dollars before reports were made to local law enforcement."

Pins most often are stolen through skimmers installed on pumps at local gas stations, police said.

Police are advising residents to use credit cards rather than debit cards when they fill up, stick to the pumps closest to the store, and to look for obvious signs of tampering.

The Bluetooth feature on a smartphone can detect skimmers, police said.

Activate the feature and if a skimmer is on the pump, the phone will attempt to connect and show a long number, police said.

Police also advised residents to use high-traffic ATMs.