A Kansas University student says her ATM information might have been stolen by a thief using a fake card reader – or a surreptitious device attached to a legitimate machine.

That’s the best explanation Mitzi Keel, 21, has for why her bank account was cleaned out by somebody using her PIN at ATMs in Romania, where Keel has never been.

“That’s what the police are telling me because I had my card and my check book and everything in my possession the whole time,” she said. “It’s kind of frustrating because Mom always told me not to carry around cash, and you’re supposed to watch your checkbook all the time. You think you’ll be safe carrying around a debit card.”

Whitney Watson, a spokesman for Atty. Gen. Phill Kline, said he’s heard of such cases, and the technology does exist to do what Keel thinks happened. But he’s not aware of it actually happening in Kansas.

Watson said it would be more likely that Keel was a victim of “phishing,” where a crook sends a fake e-mail pretending to be a bank, asking for information to verify an account.

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“We just aren’t aware of any victims in the state … more than likely, she actually entered in this information thinking that she was verifying information from an institution,” Watson said.

In any case, Keel will be OK. Her bank’s insurance refunded the money. But she said the experience was frustrating, and she wants others to be warned.

“I think it’s something that college students really need to know about,” she said.