Police are warning of a sophisticated ATM scam preying on elderly New Yorkers, after at least nine reported thefts on the Upper East Side left seniors more than $70,000 poorer in recent weeks. Authorities say a trio of suspects — two men and a woman — were caught on surveillance cameras during three of the incidents, which occurred between May 8 and June 26 at branches of Chase Bank, Bank of America, Capital One, and Citibank. Among the hardest hit was an 86-year-old woman who lost nearly $24,000 from her account around 11:30 a.m. on June 19 at the Chase branch on York Avenue near East 79th Street. That same location was hit at least three times, police said. In another brazen pair of thefts on May 14, scammers at the same York Avenue branch drained $20,000 from a 90-year-old woman and $3,000 from an 83-year-old woman within the span of an hour, according to police. The suspects typically distracted victims as they withdrew money, sometimes pretending to offer help at the ATM before stealing their cards. On June 2, one scammer struck up a conversation with a 71-year-old man at a Chase Bank on East 90th Street near Third Avenue around 11 a.m. and managed to steal his card unnoticed. Minutes later, the thief met up with an accomplice at another Chase branch in East Harlem and attempted to withdraw $5,500. The victim discovered the theft about an hour later, after noticing his card missing and over $6,000 in unauthorized charges on his account, police said. No injuries were reported among the victims, but authorities warned that more thieves could be involved in the pattern. The NYPD reports that grand larceny — which includes credit card theft — is on the rise in the Upper East Side’s 19th Precinct, with more than 750 cases reported so far this year, an increase of 5.2% from last year. (YWN World Headquarters – NYC)