Village of Mineola Trustee Dennis Walsh said Wednesday residents should take precautions when using ATMs following a recent string of machines being hacked.
“Nassau County is a prime target,” Walsh said at the village board’s regularly scheduled meeting.
He cited a Queens resident of Romanian descent who recently pleaded guilty to his involvement in an ATM hacking ring, which operated on the East Coast.
Walsh, who said he had once been a victim of electronic identity theft, said many of these ATM fraud incidents involve the installation of a debit card reader, which records account numbers and pass codes.
He said the readers are “undetectable.”
He asked residents to remain watchful, cover their ATM pin code when accessing machines, and shut their computers when not in use to help protect themselves.
Also at the meeting, Mineola Fire Chief Jeffrey Clark said that while the number of incidents handled by his department has remained fairly steady in the past two years losses from fires have declined.
“We work very hard to make sure we protect the residents’ property,” Clark said during a fire report on the department activity in the 2015-2016 year.
Clark said that in 2015-16 village year, there were a total of 552 incidents reported. Of those, he said, 32 percent were commercial calls, 16 percent were for gas leaks or spills, and 13 percent were miscellaneous residential calls.
Most incidents, he said, occurred between 7 a.m.-6 p.m. during the week.
The calls also included incidents at Winthrop-University Hospital, mutual aid, and building and apartment emergencies.
Clark said among the firefighters, Louis Santosus Jr. ranked first in responses with 354 calls, followed by Christopher Strauss who had 333 and Robert Connolly who had 296.
He said property damage for 2015-2016 year was $303,750 compared to $338,740 in 2014-15 and $403,850 in 2013-14.
“Overall we had a good year and a busy year,” Clark said,
He said the recent acquisition of truck No. 168, which has the ability to maneuver through narrow and tight spaces, will be helpful going forward.
“The fire department is well-positioned to protect this village of residents for years to come,” said Mayor Scott Strauss, a longtime member of the Mineola Fire Department.
Clark also noted that the Mineola Junior Fire Department ranks No. 1 in the state.
