2 suspected of ‘shoulder surfing’ ATM customers to steal PINs and cash

Two men were arrested in Irvine last weekend on allegations of watching bank customers enter their personal identification numbers at ATMs and then using the information to withdraw cash, police said.

A manager at a Bank of America branch on Jamboree Road called police Saturday to report that two men were loitering near an ATM, Irvine police spokeswoman Farrah Emami said.

The manager told police that the pair would watch over customers’ shoulders as they used the machine. If a customer walked away without closing out the transaction, the men would use the customer’s PIN to withdraw money, Emami said. The practice is known as “shoulder surfing,” police said.

Soon after the bank manager called police, a customer reported that someone had illegally withdrawn $200 from the person’s bank account using the Jamboree ATM, Emami said.

While officers were taking a report at the Jamboree branch, Irvine police got a call about two men doing the same thing at a Bank of America on Culver Drive, Emami said.

Witnesses gave officers descriptions of the men seen at both locations, a description of their car and a license plate number, according to police.

An officer patrolling on Irvine Center Drive near the 405 Freeway pulled over a car fitting the description, Emami said.

Officers arrested two men inside who had a large amount of cash with them, according to police.

Authorities identified the suspects as Cleo Charles Nash, 36, and Jahmal Theodis Winston, 28, both from San Francisco. They were being held with bail set at $100,000 each on suspicion of felony and misdemeanor theft.

Investigators think the two may be part of a theft ring in Los Angeles and Orange counties. They asked that anyone with information about the case or who may be a victim call Det. Melissa Partida at (949) 724-7180.