Card skimmers found in local grocery stores are tied to international crime ring
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (WJW) – An international crime ring has been identified as the group behind a brazen crime spree across Northern Ohio and other parts of the state over the past year.
The thieves have been using micro-sized skimmers to steal credit card and banking data from ATMs and retail point of sale devices.
“They’re targeting the magnetic strip on the back of the cards,” said Eric Balish, U.S. Secret Service Assistant to the Special Agent in Charge.
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On Monday, agents with Cleveland Field Office showed FOX 8 some of the evidence in the case.
“The parts have gotten so small, what they once couldn’t put into the machine, they now can,” said Balish.
Agents say, paper thin recording devices are being inserted inside of ATM card readers and then micro cameras are being mounted to appear like part of the terminal, but they’re actually recording a person’s pin number as it’s entered.
“They’re placed in an area where the average person is not going to find it,” said Blaine Forschen, Special Agent in Charge of the Cleveland Field Office. “They go to the ATM late at night and can install it within 10 seconds.”
The devices are so sophisticated, even the locations don’t notice them at first.
The same goes for fake point of sale card readers that look exactly like the real devices. It also takes only seconds for the criminals to slip it over top of the actual card reader and is nearly undetectable.
The crooks usually retrieve them in a day or two and then wipe out the accounts.
Forschen says dozens of devices have been recovered as part of the investigation with more than a $1 million stolen.
“The group doing it is an organized criminal syndicate,” he said. “They all come from eastern European countries. the ones we’ve identified came across the southern border illegally and have been making their way across the country.”
Multiple ATMs and stores have been hit, including Walmart and Marc’s. Giant Eagle confirmed in early January that they found the devices inside several stores in Northeast and Central Ohio.
One person has been arrested in Western Pennsylvania who is connected to the cases in Ohio and multiple additional federal indictments are expected in the next four to six months, said Forschen.
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But skimming crimes are becoming common, so he said people need to protect themselves.
He suggested only using chip cards or other modes of digital payment.
Hide your pin number when using an ATM and always be cautious at checkout.
“It’s either sticky tape or a gluey substance they use to put the device over the real POS terminal, so if you give it a tug and it moves at all, there’s something sketchy that’s not supposed to be there,” said Forshen.
Most importantly, frequently check your accounts so that if something has happened, you can quickly inform your bank or credit card company.
He says skimmer crimes cost the country over a billion each year, so it’s up to individuals to help themselves and the authorities fight back.
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