POLICE have issued a warning to shoppers in a major US city after a convenience store has been repeatedly targeted by fraudsters.
Customers of a 7-Eleven store in Washington DC have been at risk of credit card fraud after another skimming device was found at the location.
4
4
Employees at the store in Northwest DC found and removed the device from an in-store ATM.
It is the third device found at the location over the last month and a half.
Skimmers are devices that are fitted onto ATMs and other chip and pin devices that swipe bank details and send them on to fraudsters.
"It's not good to me because they ripping people off," frustrated customer Rob Williams told WDVM.
read more on skimmers
"They have so much transportation through here," he noted as the number of potential victims had not been revealed.
The Metropolitan Police Department has issued warnings to shoppers and tips on how to avoid becoming a victim.
Cops believe that the latest devices found at the 7-Eleven location are connected to those reported at other local stores.
The targeted stores include Safeway, WAWA, and Harris Teeter.
Most read in The US Sun
CITY OF HELL World’s most dangerous city in Haiti littered with bodies 'eaten by pigs'
FILMMAKER MOURNED Morgan Spurlock who ate McDonald's every day for a month dead at 53
AI DON'T KNOW Google AI spews incorrect results claiming Obama was 1st US Muslim president
Speaking of the recent finds, one DC resident raised concerns about the impact on victims who may increasingly struggle to get their money back.
"It's crazy," he told WDVM.
‘It looked a little cartoonish,’ warns convenience store shopper who spotted data-swiping device – he still lost $100s
"It happens more and more and then credit card companies aren't as likely to start reimbursing people as much."
When issuing advice to shoppers, DC Police explained that the ATM at the 7-Eleven is privately owned.
Such ATMs are much more likely to be targeted by fraudsters with 60% of skimming occurring at machines not owned by banks, according to FICO reports.
Police are still hunting for the fraudsters who fitted the skimmers.
In the meantime, the following advice has been issued to shoppers and ATM users:
- Does the keypad or card reader move when touched? If so, do not use it.
- If possible, compare your machine with the one next to it.
- Check the alignment of the card reader and panel below
- Look inside the card reader before inserting your card.
- Shield your PIN information.
- Call 911 if you suspect a skimmer has been fitted.
- Immediately contact your bank if you believe you have been a victim of such a device.
The U.S. Sun has contacted the DC Police Department and 7-Eleven for comment.
A Safeway customer from the area spoke out about finding a skimming device on a self-checkout machine last month.
What is a skimmer device?
A skimmer device is a fraud tool designed to steal sensitive information from credit or debit cards during transactions.
- Imagine a skimmer device as a sneaky thief that hides on ATMs or card machines.
- Its job is to secretly steal your credit or debit card information when you use it for a transaction.
- These devices are like tiny spies that can copy your card details, including the card number and PIN, without you even realizing it.
- Skimmers can be cleverly disguised to look just like the regular card reader, making them hard to spot.
- Once they have your information, bad guys can use it to make fake cards or buy things without your permission, causing a lot of trouble and stress.
- It's important to always be cautious and check for anything unusual on card machines before using them to protect yourself from these sneaky devices.
"The keypad was very clearly new and that clued me in immediately," shopper John Perry-Mille told CBS affiliateWUSA.
"I told him, ‘You’ve got a skimmer.’ And he was very nice and said, ‘No, I don’t think it’s a skimmer.’
"And I said, ‘No! I think you have a skimmer.'
"I’m like pulling it and then we pull it off together and he’s shocked."
At least five Safeway locations across the city are known to have been impacted by skimmers since March 25, according to cops.
Read More on The US Sun
These are:
- 1200 1st Street NE
- 400 M Street SE
- 1800 Wisconsin Avenue NW
- 4500 40th Street NW
- 1700 Corcoran Street NW
4
4
