Credit card skimming cost over $115 million as fast-growing scam comes to New Jersey

According to the U.S. Secret Service, credit card skimming is one of the fastest growing scams used by criminals and has accounted for more than $115 million in losses to victims and over 350 arrests each year.

Skimming incidents involve criminal groups installing hidden electronic devices that record cardholder information at ATMs and Point-of-Sale (POS) terminals.

These incidents occur frequently at popular merchants, such as pharmacies, gas stations, and grocery stores.

Criminals use the stolen debit or credit card data by re-encoding it on other cards for unauthorized ATM withdrawals or high-end purchases. Criminals may sell the stolen data from batches of cards to other groups.

Authorities in Pennsauken Township are issuing a warning to shoppers after a credit card skimming device was discovered on a pin pad at the Save A Lot store on Federal Street.

The device, which was capable of stealing card information, was found on March 6 but is believed to have been in place since March 2, according to a statement from the Pennsauken Police Department.

The skimmer, which attaches to a pin pad to secretly collect data from credit and debit card users, was removed after it had been in place for several days. Investigators are urging anyone who used a credit or debit card at the store during this period to contact their card issuer and report the incident.

Pennsauken residents may recall similar incidents in recent months.

A credit card skimming device was found on a machine inside a Family Dollar store located along Route 130

Last April, a skimming device was found at a 7-Eleven on Westfield Avenue, followed by another discovery in May at the Supremo Food Market on Crescent Boulevard. The exact number of individuals impacted by those previous incidents remains unclear.

Authorities are asking anyone with information about this latest discovery to contact Detective Madden at 856-488-0080, extension 2499, or via email at rmadden@pennsaukenpolice.org.

Another skimming device was found at a convenience store in Ocean County earlier this week.

In that case, South Toms River police say PNC Bank was alerted of issues at their ATM inside Wawa on Dover Road. If you were a victim, you are asked to file a report with the South Toms River Police Department at (732) 349-0313.

In January, Assistant Manager Prabh Deep was working alone at the 7-Eleven on Columbus Road in Burlington Township, when a man was captured on video affixing a skimmer device to the credit card machine.

Anyone who can identify the suspect is asked to call Burlington Township Police Detective Ryan O’Farrell at 609-239-4486.

Police in Hoboken say another man allegedly installed a skimmer device on an ATM at a Wells Fargo bank branch on 14th Street in the Hudson County community. Anyone with information about that case is asked to contact Hoboken Police Detective Jesse Castellano at 201-420-2100, ext. 3127, or via email at castellanoj@hobokenpdnj.gov.

To check if a card reader has a skimmer, look for a tampered security seal, inspect the card reader for misalignment or loose parts, wiggle the card slot to see if it moves abnormally, compare it to other nearby readers to check for inconsistencies, and look for any visible signs of added components or unusual gaps around the reader; if you suspect a skimmer, avoid using that card reader and report it to the store owner.

ATM skimming devices are typically inserted deep inside the card read slot of ATMs and are usually impossible to detect from the ATM’s exterior.

These devices can be designed to capture both the data on your magnetic stripe and your card’s EMV chip (note: EMV refers to Europay, Mastercard, and Visa, the three payments companies behind the chip technology). While ATM companies are constantly developing security features to combat skimmers, criminals are always adapting to these security features and changing their methods to deploy ATM skimming devices.

Point of sale terminal skimming devices are typically overlays that cover either the entire top exterior of the POS terminal, or just the keypad and EMV reader slot.

These skimming devices can be difficult to detect because criminals will design plastic overlay shells that look identical to the top of the POS terminal and fit securely on the terminal.

These skimming devices can be designed to capture both the data on your magnetic stipe and your card’s EMV chip. POS terminal overlay skimming devices will also capture all keypad entries, including your PIN, if a debit card is used.