2 men accused of using credit card skimmer at Sam's Club in Frazer, possibly other locations
Two men from Romania were accused by Frazer police of stealing credit card information by installing a skimming device in a self-checkout lane at the Sam’s Club store at Pittsburgh Mills.
They may be responsible for doing the same thing at Sam’s Club stores in Monroeville, West Mifflin and Butler Township, where card skimmers also were found, Frazer police Chief Terry Kuhns said.
Colceag Constantin, 41, and Raul-Mihani Cojucaru, 40, were charged with felony counts of access device fraud and criminal conspiracy. They are being detained in the Allegheny County Jail in lieu of $25,000 cash bond each and face a preliminary hearing June 6 before District Judge David Sosovicka.
Police said the skimmer was discovered Thursday, May 19 when an employee tried to pay for an item and the number “1” button on the keypad didn’t work, according to a criminal complaint.
Store security video from May 16 shows Cojucaru using a cart filled with paper towels and toilet paper to block the view of employees while Constantin installed the device on top of the regular card reader, according to the complaint.
Skimmers are fashioned to look like a store’s regular credit card reader. They are placed over top of the existing card reader to capture and store the information so it can be retrieved later by thieves, Kuhns said.
Before they were arrested, the men returned to the store two times to retrieve information using a Bluetooth connection, he said.
“Our hope is that they weren’t able to take the information that was collected on the skimmers and put it out on the internet before we arrested them,” Kuhns said. “My advice to anyone who utilized a self-checkout lane at the Sam’s Club between May 15 and the time these suspects were taken into custody is to keep a close eye on their credit card statements for any indication of fraud.”
The chief said people should continue to check their statements carefully because there often is a gap from the time card information is stolen and when it is sold.
Kuhns said investigators were able to get the license plate number of the SUV the two men were driving from security video. They traced the vehicle to a rental company in Kearny, N.J.
After a description of the vehicle was issued to area police departments, Constantin and Cojucaru were taken into custody along Route 8 on Friday by officers from the Northern Regional Police Department.
A black and yellow jacket one of the men was seen wearing in security video from the store was found in the car along with items bought on the date they are accused of placing the skimmer in the store, according to the complaint.
Police executed a search warrant Saturday at the Ross Township motel at which the men were staying and confiscated several laptops, external storage devices and fake IDs, Kuhns said.
Police said Constantin and Cojucaru had driver’s licenses, issued in the United Kingdom, when they were arrested. Their identities as Romanian nationals was confirmed by the passports found in their motel room.
When questioned by investigators about the the devices, Constantin told them, “I know what I’ve done. I can’t deny it,” according to the complaint.
Kuhns said the two men flew from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Seattle and then took a flight to New York City before making their way to New Jersey to rent the vehicle and drive to Western Pennsylvania.
“We are still tracing where they were, but it’s pretty safe to assume that they placed skimming devices at other stores along the way,” he said.
Kuhns said police in Monroeville, West Mifflin and Butler Township are investigating whether card skimmers discovered at other Sam’s Club stores over the past several days were placed there by Constantin and Cojucaru.
He said some Walmart stores use the same model credit card readers as the ones found in Sam’s Club stores.
“The skimmers have to look the same as the ones they are being placed over or they will be easily noticed,” Kuhns said. “And they always put them in the self-checkout lines to reduce the chances of them being discovered.”
Monroeville police Chief Doug Cole confirmed his department recovered one card skimming device from a gas pump of the Sam’s Club along William Penn Highway.
“Right now we don’t have any charges pending. It’s still under investigation,” Cole said. “We are aware of the skimmers that they caught out in Frazer Township. We believe they are (connected).”
A Butler Township officer said his department is investigating an incident at a Sam’s Club at Moraine Pointe Plaza but would not not give out other details.
West Mifflin police did not respond to a message seeking comment.
Tony LaRussa is a TribLive reporter. A Pittsburgh native, he covers crime and courts in the Alle-Kiski Valley. He can be reached at tlarussa@triblive.com.
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