"Shoulder-Surfer" Arrested At Napa ATM

NAPA - A San Francisco man hanging out Thursday at a Napa Bank of America location was arrested after it was determined he was ”shoulder-surfing” at the bank’s ATM location and stealing money from customer accounts moments after they left.

Police also believe the arrest is part of an on-going scam at several ATM locations in the Napa area.

On Thursday, Napa Police arrested 29-year-old Thedideus Donell Guidry of San Francisco, after observing him engage in suspicious keypad activity at the Bank of America location on 1st Street.

Police accuse Guidry of ”shoulder-surfing” at the bank’s ATM location, a process in which they say a customer conducts a transaction at an ATM machine while a suspect stands nearby, watching the customer enter their PIN number.

Shortly after 2:00 p.m. Thursday, an off-duty Napa Police officer driving by apparently observed a man standing in the middle lane of the ATM machine at the Bank of America location.

The officer observed no one was utilizing the ATM machines at the time, and the man did not appear to be conducting a transaction.

When the officer drove by a short time later, police say he noticed the same man had remained in the ATM area. The officer parked nearby, observing the man’s actions, and watched two customers approach the ATMs. The man stayed at the middle ATM while the two customers did their transactions at the outer ATMs.

The officer observed the man - later identified as Guidry - peer over one of the customer’s shoulders during her transaction and, as soon as she left, move to that ATM, imputing something into the keypad.

Napa officers were contacted, and immediately responded to the area, and contacting Guidry. He was found in possession of $700, and it was determined he was not a Bank of America customer.

Soon after, police say the female victim of the ATM theft contacted the bank and determined $700 was withdrawn from her account immediately after her ATM transaction.

Police warn that if customers doesn’t finalize their transaction before leaving the ATM machine, anyone can continue the ATM transaction, before the computer ends the transaction automatically.

It is in this short period of time, police say, that with the customer’s PIN number, suspect(s) can withdraw more cash from the account.

Since the beginning of the February, police say there have been four reported incidences of “shoulder surfing” at Bank of America ATM locations in the City of Napa, where customers have been the victim of theft and identity theft.

In each incident, police say the victims describe African American individuals who were loitering near the ATM’s, and who utilized the victim’s ATM immediately after them.

Napa Police say in some cases, the suspects would approach the victims using a ruse, claiming one of the ATM’s was broken, and directing them to another.

In their alert, police say both a male and a female were often involved in the scam.

Guidry was placed under arrest and booked into Napa County Department of Corrections, charged with a felony charge of identity theft and a misdemeanor charge of use of access card .

Napa investigators suspect that there have been more cases of victimization that have not been reported to the police department.

If you have been the victim of this scam or see something suspicious, police urge you to contact the Napa Police Department at (707) 257-9223. If you observe a crime in progress, call 9-1-1.

The public can submit a confidential web tip at Tip411 or text a tip to Tip411.

Anyone with a cell phone can send an anonymous tip to the Napa Police Department by texting the word 707NPD and the tip information to 847411 (tip411).

-image via Napa Police Department