Automated Teller Machines

Washington Mutual Inc.'s free-for-all is about to become a free-for-some. Seattle-based Washington Mutual has been one of the few big banks to give everyone no-cost access to its automated teller machines. But starting Nov. 17, people who don't have Washington Mutual accounts will pay fees to use its ATMs, the bank said Tuesday. The so-called ATM surcharge will be $1.50 in California and most other states, said bank spokesman Gary Kishner.

Three men were arrested over the weekend on suspicion of using a drill to try to break into an ATM at an apartment complex, an Orange County Sheriff's Department spokesman said Monday. Thomas Woods, 45, Adam Leyva, 24, and Michael Gralapp, 25, all of Los Angeles County, were arrested on suspicion of felony burglary and possession of burglary tools, Lt. Ted Boyne said. They were arrested about 2 a.m. Sunday near the complex at Paseo de Valencia and Stockport Street, he said.

His living room opens onto a dazzling white beach and a panoramic ocean view. At night, he falls asleep listening to the crashing surf. DeWayne McKinney has made a fortune selling convenience. He owns cash machines at nightclubs, pedestrian malls and other busy locations across the island of Oahu. Whenever a tourist withdraws cash, McKinney takes a cut. He spends his days traversing the island in his black Mercedes-Benz, checking on his ATMs.

A 26-year-old man was arrested and two others were being sought in a series of automated teller machine scams, police said Wednesday. Nau Pantoja-Mayo of Orange was held on suspicion of burglary. Pantoja-Mayo and two male accomplices allegedly tampered with ATMs at Washington Mutual banks at 12555 Valley View and 11922 Brookhurst St., both in Garden Grove, police said. After being altered, the ATMs did not return cards.

U.S. Bancorp, the sixth-biggest U.S. bank, will install 333 automated teller machines at Walgreen Co. stores in California and Nevada to expand in the West. Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp said its U.S. Bank subsidiary would install 312 ATMs in California and 21 in Nevada. U.S. Bancorp will about double its ATMs in California to 684, and will boost its ATMs in Nevada to 119. The bank has 306 branches in California and 40 in Nevada.

An automated teller machine was stolen from a gas station early Sunday, the third such theft in Orange County since mid-August, police said. The machine was stolen from an Arco just before 4 a.m., using the same method as in the earlier incidents, sheriff's Lt. Ted Boyne said. "They come, and in 30 seconds, they have the ATM in back of an SUV."

Tired of having parents turn in checks that bounce, Grossmont High School officials did something few other schools have dared to try. They adopted a no-checks policy and installed an automated teller machine on the outside wall of the old gym, right next to the school finance office. Now, students hungry for dollars to buy dance tickets, yearbooks or just about anything are excited to have somewhere to go for quick cash.

For the second time in as many days, would-be burglars have attempted to steal an ATM from an Orange County Wienerschnitzel restaurant, authorities said Wednesday. Jim Amormino, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department, said deputies found a van backed up to the broken window of a Wienerschnitzel in the 27000 block of La Paz Road about 8 a.m. Wednesday. The van was attached to a rope tied to a free-standing ATM machine inside.

Bank of America Corp. has agreed to let clients of its Mexican partner Grupo Financiero Santander Serfin use automated teller machines for free to help gain more clients in the U.S. Latino community. Customers of Santander Serfin, in which Bank of America bought a 24.9% stake for $1.6 billion in March, will be able to use the Charlotte, N.C.-based bank's ATMs without charge to withdraw money and check their accounts. BofA customers will have the same privilege at Serfin's ATMs in Mexico.

In what law enforcement officials say is the first crime of its kind in Orange County, a Rancho Santa Margarita bank's ATM was rammed off its foundation by a stolen truck early Wednesday and hauled off in a second vehicle. "This method of operation is distinct," said Jim Amormino, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department. "It's the first time that a whole machine was taken."