Posted on by

The disturbing new crime that cost a Victorville spa $60,000 in seconds

The disturbing new crime that cost a Victorville spa ,000 in seconds

The Victorville business owner’s account has been deleted

A thief was able to score nearly $60,000 in refunds using a point-of-sale system he took from a Victorville spa. The bank originally told the spa owner that it would cover the money.

VICTORVILLE, CA. – A Victorville spa owner was robbed of her savings after a break-in at her business last month. The robbery only lasted 13 seconds and the thief only took one item.

It happened on September 21st at Snatch Me Up California Body Sculpting Spa. A thief broke in through the front door, ran straight to the counter and grabbed a portable teller machine – a device used to process credit card transactions – and nothing else.

Days later, the company’s bank account was overdrawn by nearly $60,000 after the thief made dozens of refunds.

“It broke me,” said Ruthie Vartanian, the spa’s owner. “It broke me because this is our life savings.”

Vartanian said she transferred all the money from the Bank of America account connected to the device immediately after the break-in, assuming that no transactions would be processed if she had no balance.

“I really didn’t know what he was going to do with it,” Vartanian said. “I was sure if he tried to refund something, it would go back to my customers.”

Vartanian said she didn’t know how or why, but the thief was able to transfer the money using reloadable prepaid credit cards and there was no way to track them down.

She is not alone. Two years ago, the Grand Salon in Brea had its POS machine stolen. The thief stole $40,000 in restitution. Last year, Toronto police arrested a woman with nearly 80 stolen devices.

Vartanian said Bank of America told her: “They didn’t know how to prevent it and they don’t know how to stop it because it’s a brand new crime.”

First, Bank of America told her she was in the dock for the money that was stolen from her. But when FOX 11 began asking questions, the bank reached out to Vartanian and said it was now investigating. The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department is also investigating.

Since the robbery, Vartanian has taken the device home every evening, but police also recommend that small businesses add a PIN to their account for protection.

“I’m open [the spa] “During COVID,” Vartanian said. “I took a chance in the high desert.” That could have taken me out.