Jenny Durkan, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington, held a news conference in Seattle today to speak out against skimming — a criminal technique in which thieves copy bank account information using debit card readers, and record PINs using video surveillance.
But today’s press conference was rather personal for Durkan: she was victimized by a skimming-scam in August, when swindlers used her PIN and debit card information to plunder $1,000 from her checking account.
According to the AP, Durkan, who is a member of the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee of U.S. Attorneys, spoke at a federal courthouse this morning accompanied by the Secret Service Seattle Electronic Crimes Task Force. They spoke about recent skimming incidents in the Puget Sound area and warned the public to be vigilant when using ATMs.
Durkan isn’t the only high profile DOJ official to be targeted by electronic thieves in recent years. In October 2009, FBI Director Robert Mueller revealed that he was targeted – almost successfully – by a phishing scam. At the time, Mueller said that because he was nearly duped into giving up sensitive information about his bank account, he has stayed away from online banking completely.
