Toronto police arrested five men and laid 158 criminal charges in connection with an ATM fraud that may have earned the suspects as much as $280,000 since 2009.

Toronto police Det. Phil Hibbeln said it was a simple but sophisticated operation. A skimming device — a metal plate-mounted computer chip powered by a small battery — is placed into a bank machine's card receptacle, while an inconspicuous pinhole camera captures customers' pin numbers.

"The pin data plus the track data is put together and downloaded onto a laptop computer, and that in turn is downloaded onto plastic debit cards," Hibbeln said.

The thieves used those cards to steal money from 60 victims, police said.

Hibbeln said in most cases the suspects would install the devices before the lunchtime rush, then collect them later in the afternoon.

The men, all from Toronto, range in age from 26 to 43. Police believe they're connected with organized crime.

Police said some of the men were arrested for a similar crime in May 2009.

Police said card skimmers target customers who aren't vigilant when doing their banking. They advise covering the ATM key pad with your hand while entering your pin number, and regularly checking your bank statement.