It's been over a year since a rash of debit card skimming hit Whistler, affecting hundreds of locals who had to replace cards that may have been compromised by thieves using counterfeit card scanners.
On Feb. 11, a male came to the Whistler RCMP detachment to report a transaction that was made at the Capilano Mall in North Vancouver, the day after he made three withdrawals from two ATMs in the Village.
The RCMP contacted the bank and went to the ATMs in question, and neither had a card skimmer attached or showed any obvious signs of tampering.
Card skimming fraud occurs when a fake terminal is placed on top of an ATM or swapped out for the card reader at a store. The counterfeit device allows the transaction to go through normally, but records card and PIN numbers that allow a thief to make a fake card.
The RCMP is requesting video surveillance from the Capilano Mall.
To protect yourself, request a bankcard with a security chip if you don't already have one. As well, check your transactions regularly and be on the lookout for anything suspicious. If there appears to be anything mounted on the outside of an ATM then use another machine.
Store clerks have also been advised to keep their machines behind the counter, and to ensure staff are familiar enough to recognize a counterfeit machine if it's swapped out by thieves.
Busy weekend for door staff
On Feb. 9 at 9 p.m. the RCMP were called to a bar in the Upper Village regarding a male who was fighting with door staff. The RCMP attended and found that the male, a 39-year-olf from Whistler, had his shirt off and was pinned to the ground by the door staff.
The man was intoxicated and lodged in cells at the RCMP detachment overnight. He was charged with being intoxicated in public and obstruction for refusing to provide his name.
At 1:56 a.m. on the morning of Feb. 11, the RCMP attended a local nightclub where a male had assaulted the door staff. The male had been asked to leave and escorted out, but continued to try and gain entry.
The door staff succeeded in calming the man down, but he became agitated again. When a doorman put a hand on his shoulder, he turned around and punched the doorman in the nose. There was an altercation and the man was brought under control.
The RCMP attended and the male was examined by a paramedic for minor injuries. He was cleared and taken to the RCMP cells for the night. He was released with a ticket for being intoxicated in public.
At 9:58 p.m. on Feb. 13 the police received another report of a bar patron hitting a staff member at a pub, this time involving two females. They were arrested for assault and public intoxication, but not assault charges were laid when they were released the following morning. However, as well as fines for public intoxication the women - a 23-year-old and 25-year-old from Whistler - were given an additional fine for causing a nuisance.
Statue stolen from art shop
The RCMP is investigating after a small metal figurine was stolen from a local art store valued at between $3,000 and $4,000.
The statue was there when the store opened on Feb. 10 at 11 a.m. and the loss was noticed at 3:15 p.m.
The figuring is described as small enough to fit into a pocket or bag. It's not known how the figure was secured.
