Cops: Trio arrested in ATM theft scam

Three native Bulgarians from Quebec were charged Wednesday with a massive scheme to plant hidden devices on ATMs that netted them more than $285,000 from customers who used their debit cards near Union Square and elsewhere in New York City.

The crooks attached "skimming" devices that read card numbers over the slot where users dipped their debit cards and tiny hidden video cameras to record the fingers entering a PIN number on each transaction, according to an 81-count indictment filed by the Manhattan district attorney.

District Attorney Cyrus Vance said the men stole data from more than 1,100 cards and, during a five-day spree in January 2011, attached 11 devices to ATMs within a mile of Union Square and then used the stolen data out of state in fraudulent transactions worth more than $264,000.

"These defendants traveled to New York from Canada to rip off hundreds of Manhattan residents and visitors who did no more than use ATM machines," Vance said in a news release.

The three men -- Dimitar Stamatov, 28, Nikolai Ivanov, 31, and his brother Iordan Ivanov, 24 -- are accused of fraud, larceny and identity theft.

Nikolai Ivanov and Stamatov were both originally arrested in May on a narrower indictment. They pleaded not guilty Wednesday and are being held on $500,000 bail. Iordan Ivanov is at large, believed to be in Canada. The DA's office said most of the stolen money was sent to Bulgaria.

Mark Bederow, Stamatov's lawyer, said his client was at worst a "lookout" in the scheme and said the evidence of that was "interpretational." Nikolai Ivanov's lawyer declined to comment on the charges.

Vance said the case pointed up the need for consumers to protect themselves, by looking out for "impermanent" devices attached to the lip of the card-dip slot, and using a free hand to cover their fingers as they enter a PIN.