What looked like a routine stop at a Villa Park ATM turned into the centerpiece of a months-long investigation, after deputies say a slick cash-drop distraction let thieves quietly swap a victim’s debit card and walk away with his PIN. Three people have now been arrested in Orange County, and investigators say the coordinated scheme appears to be tied to similar thefts in multiple California counties.
According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, the case kicked off when a 66-year-old man used an outdoor ATM in the 17000 block of Santiago Boulevard on Nov. 18 and later discovered his card had been compromised. Surveillance video, the department said, showed one suspect watching as the customer entered his PIN, a second suspect dropping cash at the man’s feet to pull his attention away, and a third quietly swapping his debit card for a fraudulent one. Deputies said they tracked a gray SUV seen in the footage, obtained search warrants, and on Jan. 6 arrested three Romanian nationals…