Story highlights Police: A male TSA officer signaled to a female officer when he found a man attractive

Female officer would notify scanning machine a woman -- not a man -- was passing through

Police: That would trigger an anomaly in groin area, leading male officer to grope passenger

(CNN) Two Transportation Security Administration screeners have been fired after conspiring to grope attractive men at Denver International Airport, Denver police said.

Here's how police say the scheme worked: When the male TSA officer noticed a man he found attractive, he would alert a female TSA officer.

The female officer would then tell the screening machine that a female passenger -- not a male -- was walking through. And that information would trigger a machine to register an anomaly in the groin area, prompting the male TSA officer to pat down the passenger, police said, citing a TSA investigation.

But during the patdown, the male TSA officer used the palms of his hands to touch the passenger's front groin area and buttocks, which violates TSA policy.