More than 20 students at a college in Ottawa found money missing from their bank accounts after a debit card reader at a campus cafeteria was tampered with and then stolen.

The debit card unit was reported stolen Monday, the day Algonquin College student Tamara Jurchuk found out she lost $500 in the scheme.

"It's definitely not a nice Monday morning to wake up and find out that your whole account has been cleared," she said.

Prior to the theft of the terminal, it had been rigged to copy bank card data from customers.

Student loan season

Jurchuk said the timing is particularly bad for students, as September is when many deposit student loan money into their accounts.

Ottawa police are investigating, and campus officials have already confirmed that only one of the 70 debit card terminals on campus was affected, college spokesman Doug Wotherspoon said.

He added that, for the short term, victims of the fraud can get help from the college's financial aid department if they're short on cash.

Jurchuk said her bank is also investigating the loss of the money from her account, and will not say whether the money will be refunded pending the results of the investigation.