CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – The recent theft of thousands of dollars from people who used their debit cards at a Manchester ATM is one type of identity theft becoming more common as consumers increasingly rely on electronic transactions.

The crime known as “card skimming” takes three steps:

Using scanners placed over ATM card slots, thieves steal account information stored on a debit card’s magnetic strip. A dummy number pad, camera or stealthy glance over a customer’s shoulder captures the PIN. Those who know where to look can easily find Web sites that sell blank magnetic cards and card-printing machines.

“It’s a very popular type of crime these days,” said Connie Stratton, a senior assistant attorney general in New Hampshire’s consumer protection bureau.

In the most recent cases, two women who used a Bank of America ATM at the T.J. Maxx plaza on Monday reported having money withdrawn without their knowledge at a Saugus, Mass., ATM on Tuesday.

One woman said $4,500 was taken from her account, another said $1,900 was taken.

Saugus Police said they had no suspects but were investigating possible connections to similar incidents.

Detective Dana Bates said his department has received at least 30 complaints of credit and debit card skimming since January.

“It’s been going up in the last six months, I’ll tell you that,” he said.

Nationally, of 635,173 consumer complaints reported to the Federal Trade Commission last year, the greatest number by far – 39 percent – were related to identity theft, according to a February report. Broken down, 28 percent of those complaints were for credit card fraud, 18 percent for bank fraud.

Manchester, Nashua, Concord, Dover and Salem are the state’s top identity theft hotspots, with credit card and bank fraud taking first and third place on the list of most reported identity theft complaints, according to the report.

The issue is a priority for New Hampshire banks.

“There’s a huge amount of resources being committed to identity theft prevention,” said Jerry Little, president of the New Hampshire Bankers Association. Little said ATMs are checked daily during cash drops, but that customers also must look for signs of tampering.

“In ATMS you need to look at the hardware and make sure it’s what you recognize. If it doesn’t feel right, don’t use it,” he said.

Wireless technology and online marketplaces are making it easier to steal financial information, Little said, and thieves are now turning to a new target – gas stations that let customers pay at the pump. Thieves who manage to install wireless readers on a pump can easily steal credit card information to use or sell.

“The criminal can be sitting across the street in a parking lot with a laptop, reads the number instantly over a wireless phone line,” Little said.