Bogdan Paun Deputies arrested a Los Angeles man on suspicion of ATM skimming after a T.O. resident noticed something wasn't right when he used an automatic teller machine in Newbury Park.

At 8 p.m. on Jan. 16, the witness went to the Bank of America at 2345 Borchard Road to use the drive-through ATM. When he drove up, he noticed one of the two machines had an out-of-order sign. He used the one that appeared to be working but felt something about it wasn't right, Detective Eric Buschow said.

The bank customer then drove around to the parking lot and watched the machine for a few minutes. That's when he noticed a man walk up to the drivethrough ATM.

Because he was suspicious, he did what every Thousand Oaks police officer hopes citizens would always do: He called the police, Buschow said.

He had a detailed description of the man and his car that included a license plate number. Police arrived in marked patrol cars within minutes of receiving the call. While they were talking to the witness about his experience, the other man returned. The witness identified him and police detained Bogdan Paun, 39.

The investigation revealed a skimming device and a surveillance camera system were attached to the ATM. Deputies allegedly found evidence inside Paun's vehicle linking him to the skimming of account numbers using the ATM.

Paun was charged with felony identity theft and possession of a forged driver's license, fraudulent use of a card scanning device and possession of a deceptive government document. Bail was set at $250,000.

Police say Paun put up the outof-order sign to funnel customers into the trap set up on the other ATM.

According to police, skimming has become a serious problem nationwide. The crime involves attaching to an ATM a professionally made device that electronically captures account numbers from customers' bank cards when the cards are inserted or swiped in the machine. In addition, a surveillance camera is attached somewhere on or near the machine to capture corresponding personal identification numbers (PINs) when customers enter their security codes. Once the account numbers and corresponding PINs are captured, the information is encoded on blank cards, allowing criminals anywhere in the world to access funds from victims' bank accounts.

"In previous cases we've found the cards are used in Las Vegas, New York and other cities. There's a greater organization orchestrating a network that uses the information these skimmers provide," Buschow said. Bank of America officials estimate that skimming costs their banks tens of millions of dollars a year in Southern California alone.

A previous skimming case cost one bank about $20,000 in a 24-hour period, Buschow said.