Money-hungry thieves are using a new technique to haul away cash from ATMs.
It's called "forking" and authorities believe two men pulled off several bank heists in Florida using the technique.
The most recent robbery happened at the SunState Bank which is located on the corner of Palermo and LeJeune Rd in Coral Gables.
Detective Robert Wentzell says "forking" allows crooks to wipe out an ATM in a matter of seconds.
"It's essentially them manipulating the ATM to dispense cash without the bank having any record of it being dispensed,"said Wentzell.
Robbers use a homemade tool that looks like a giant fork to disable an ATM.
"ATM typically hold between $20,000 to $30,000 in cash," said Det. Wentzell.
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According to detectives, the key to the ATM forking is your pin number.
The best way to protect yourself is to cover your hand while you key in your pin number anywhere you need to use your pin.
So far, nine other banks, spread out from Central Florida all the way to Homestead have fallen victim to the two thieves.
"They'll never look up at the ATM cameras and they usually block the camera's view of getting the facial short. So. if you see individuals standing around at an ATM feeding card after card after card and getting a lot of cash that's definitely not a common transaction," said Wentzell.
If you have any information on this case, you are asked to call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS.
