Credit card skimmers such as this one fit easily over an ATM card reader. Memory devices in the skimmer read account information off the magnetic strip of credit and debit cards. Some even have pinhole cameras to record personal identification numbers when typed into the keypad. Courtesy photo
The use of credit card skimmers in South Texas, including in Corpus Christi, is on the rise. The Corpus Christi Police Department issued a skimmer alert in early August after three credit card skimmers were seized at Southside convenience stores. All three were custom-made overlay devices attached to ATM machines with double-stick tape. Each contained its own memory card, download port, and pinhole camera aimed at the keyboard to capture personal identification numbers.
“All three skimmer devices were located by attentive convenience store clerks or customers on the automatic teller machines,” said Lt. J.C. Hooper in a police department media release.
Last year, the police department documented 13 cases of skimming devices in the city.
San Antonio has been especially hard hit with skimmers. In the first six months of 2018, 115 credit card skimmers were found. Only a handful were discovered in 2016. In 2017, police picked up about 100.
Last year in Corpus Christi, police handled 700 cases of credit card abuse, including 13 documented cases of skimming devices. As businesses and consumers become more alert to the practice, more skimmers are being discovered and taken down.
Chip cards, a fairly new innovation by banks and credit card companies, helps prevent skimmers from properly functioning since skimmers use the magnetic strip on a card to capture the necessary information to drain bank accounts. However, not all merchants have converted to the chips.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
When using an ATM or paying at the gas pump, check the credit card insert for obvious signs of tampering. If something looks different, especially if the card reader is a different color from the rest of the equipment, don’t use that machine.
Also, look for graphics that are not correctly aligned. At a gas pump or bank of ATMs, check the other machines to see if they all look alike. If you spot obvious differences, don’t use any of them, since you won’t know which one has the skimmer.
You can also push and shake some of the parts of the machine to see if anything is loose. ATMS are well-built and usually don’t have any wiggly parts. Also, check the keyboard. Some skimmers put an overlay on the keyboard to capture PINs.
To protect yourself, always shield the keypad when you are entering your PIN. If you do become the victim of a credit card skimmer, report the theft as soon as possible to your card company and bank. Credit cards are much safer to use than debit cards because you can cancel a credit transaction. The best advice is to avoid ATMs or gas pumps that look suspicious in any way.
