Two Winnipeg men, who allegedly used special equipment to tamper with automated teller machines (ATMs) at banks for stealing data from the debit cards of account holders, have been arrested by the Winnipeg police department.

The men, who have not been named by the police, are aged 29 and 39, face over 100 counts – including donning a disguise with intent, 50 and 44 counts each of respectively possessing and using credit card data, seven counts of possessing gadgets for forgery and being in possession of the proceeds of crime.

Revealing the modus operandi of the accused pair, the police said that the men first fidgeted with stand-alone ATMs by covering the surveillance cameras with paper, and then placed an overlay appliance on the legitimate card slot to capture and store the passwords of the users.

Noting that the two men - who used to wear obscure cover-ups like sunglasses, wigs, and hoods - had scammed at least 38 ATM spots since fall last year; commercial crime unit’s Det. Sgt. Sandra Martin said that most people who carry out ATM transactions believe that the mechanism is “safe.”

Adding that the men either sold ATM users’ information to criminals or themselves accessed the rigged bank accounts to spend lavishly on high-end clothing and trips abroad, Martin said that such a fraud can potentially “wreak havoc” on both consumers and banks.