A little-known ATM scam is drawing new attention after police warned that thieves can physically trap cash inside a machine, leaving customers to believe the ATM malfunctioned while the money is actually waiting behind a hidden device for the criminal to retrieve.
The Daily Caller’s TheDC Shorts channel highlighted the scheme in a recent video, using reports from several news outlets to explain how so-called “cash trapping” works and why customers may need to inspect more than just the card reader before using an ATM.
The host also tied the warning to several other crimes that have become familiar in recent years, including card skimming and “bank jugging,” arguing that ordinary financial transactions increasingly require people to pay closer attention to what is happening around them.
A $700 Withdrawal That Never Appeared
NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth featured the case of Jonathan Hogue, who tried to withdraw $700 from an ATM but never received the cash.
“I was just totally perplexed,” Hogue said. “The cash didn’t come out.”
At first, the obvious explanation would seem to be a broken ATM.
Instead, investigators determined that Hogue had been caught in a cash-trapping scheme in which a device was placed directly over the machine’s cash dispenser.
NBC 4 Los Angeles explained the method using a warning from the San Marino Police Department, which described the trap as a long metal cover positioned over the cash slot.
When a customer completes a withdrawal, the ATM still dispenses the money internally, but the bills become stuck behind the false cover.
From the customer’s point of view, nothing happens.
The account may show the withdrawal, yet no cash appears, leading the victim to leave and contact the bank later while the thief returns to collect the trapped money.
It is an effective scam precisely because it exploits a reasonable assumption: when an ATM fails to hand over cash, most people blame the machine rather than consider that somebody has physically blocked the dispenser.
Police Linked The Scheme To An International Suspect
The Daily Caller host then turned to a Texas arrest connected with cash trapping.
A FOX 4 report identified the suspect as Ionut Aurel Iova, a Romanian national accused of installing a trapping device on an ATM in Plano, Texas.
According to the reporting discussed in the video, surveillance footage showed a suspect placing the device on the machine, waiting for customers to attempt withdrawals and later returning to remove the trap and collect the cash.
Police said Iova was also wanted by authorities outside Texas, including in Canada and Hungary.
The case stood out even to experienced investigators.
Plano police said the devices were designed to fit specific ATM models closely enough that customers could easily mistake them for part of the machine itself.
That is what makes this crime more concerning than a crudely blocked cash slot.
If the device blends into the ATM’s normal design, a person who is not already looking for it may never realize anything has been added.
Police Say To Inspect The Cash Slot, Not Just The Card Reader
The San Marino Police Department advised ATM users to check the area where cash is dispensed before beginning a transaction.
People should make sure the slot looks normal and that they can clearly see where the bills are supposed to come out.
Police also recommended inspecting the card reader for anything loose or unusual, which led the Daily Caller host into another familiar fraud problem: skimming.
A CBS report featured in the video showed just how quickly a skimming device can be installed over a payment terminal, sometimes in a matter of seconds.
These devices are designed to capture card information when customers swipe.
The report said some skimmers also contain wireless transmitters, allowing criminals to collect stolen information without repeatedly removing the device.
A Secret Service analyst cited in the CBS segment said a single skimmer could potentially generate enormous losses, depending on how long it remains active and how many cards pass through it.
The larger lesson is that the machine can look functional while still being compromised in more than one way.
One scam targets the card data going in; another targets the cash coming out.
‘Bank Jugging’ Targets Customers After They Leave
The Daily Caller host also revisited another robbery method known as bank jugging.
A NewsNation report showed a California robbery in which a customer carrying $10,000 in cash was targeted after leaving a bank.
The basic method is straightforward: thieves watch customers withdraw or carry large amounts of cash, follow them away from the bank and then rob them somewhere else.
The NewsNation segment also described a case in North Dallas in which several armed men allegedly approached a driver after following him, pounding on his vehicle and demanding the money he was carrying.
The victim managed to escape because his doors were locked and he was able to drive away.
Unlike cash trapping or skimming, jugging does not depend on hidden technology.
It depends on surveillance of the victim.
That difference matters because somebody can use a perfectly safe ATM and still become a target simply by leaving with visible cash or failing to notice a vehicle that has followed them.
Another Scam Can Happen At The Checkout Screen
The host briefly mentioned what he called the “Robin Hood tipping scam,” using a FOX 5 report about payment screens left open after customers complete their purchases.
The example involved a coffee shop where a customer who chooses not to leave a tip may walk away while the tip screen is still active, potentially allowing the next person to enter a gratuity using the previous customer’s card transaction.
The Daily Caller host was blunt about that practice, saying there should be no debate over whether somebody else has the right to add a tip to another person’s purchase.
The issue may sound minor compared with ATM fraud or armed robbery, but it comes from the same basic weakness: people often assume a transaction is finished when the system may still be waiting for one final input.
That makes it worth taking an extra few seconds to confirm that a checkout screen has fully reset before walking away.
Small Habits Can Prevent Expensive Problems
The common thread running through all of these schemes is not that financial technology has suddenly become impossible to trust, but that criminals have become increasingly skilled at hiding inside normal routines.
An ATM looks ordinary, the card reader appears familiar and the customer expects the machine to behave the way it always has.
Cash trapping takes advantage of that comfort.
Police recommend checking the dispenser before using an ATM, watching for loose or unfamiliar parts around the card reader and reporting problems immediately rather than simply assuming the machine is broken.
The same kind of awareness applies after leaving a bank, particularly when carrying a large amount of cash.
The Daily Caller host framed the collection of stories as another reminder that consumers now have to think about both digital fraud and very physical forms of theft.
A failed ATM withdrawal may still be nothing more than a technical problem, but if the money has already left the account and the machine looks unusual, simply walking away could give a thief exactly the opportunity the trap was designed to create.
Raised in a small Arizona town, Kevin grew up surrounded by rugged desert landscapes and a family of hunters. His background in competitive shooting and firearms training has made him an authority on self-defense and gun safety. A certified firearms instructor, Kevin teaches others how to properly handle and maintain their weapons, whether for hunting, home defense, or survival situations. His writing focuses on responsible gun ownership, marksmanship, and the role of firearms in personal preparedness.
