CLEARWATER – Clearwater Police arrested two suspects over the weekend in connection with an ATM scam that targeted multiple victims.
The arrests occurred Saturday at the Wells Fargo Bank located at 2301 Sunset Point Road. Officers were called to the scene after a bank customer reported a possible fraud. Two of the three suspects were still at the location when officers arrived and were detained after short foot pursuits.
Arrested were 25-year-old Brandon E.A. Castillo and 20-year-old Andrew J. Llactas Jimenez. Both face two counts of scheming to defraud and one count of criminal mischief. Llactas Jimenez also faces a charge of resisting an officer without violence. Both were booked into the Pinellas County Jail.
According to investigators, the suspects jammed the ATM machine with quarters, preventing customers from inserting their cards. They then posed as helpful bystanders, showing customers how to use the contactless “tap” feature. During the interaction, they would swap the victim’s card with a stolen one and memorize the entered PIN before using the information to make unauthorized withdrawals at other machines.
Police say there were at least four victims at the Clearwater location and believe similar incidents have occurred elsewhere in Pinellas County and across Florida.
Detectives advise residents to remain alert when using ATMs and never hand over their bank cards to anyone.