How to spot credit card skimmers hidden inside grocery stores, ATMs and gas stations

AUSTIN, Texas — Credit card skimming is big business. The number of compromised cards is going up and the FBI says skimming will cost banks and consumers more than $1 billion this year.

It’s a growing problem because gas pumps are no longer the primary target of skimmers. Crooks are moving some skimmers inside stores to try to steal more money.

“I was just trying to get chips and a bottle of water,” said Nyshje Rattler.

Rattler went into a convenience store to get a snack. The Texas woman paid with a credit card but later noticed a bill that should have been $3.22 was $944. The 25-year-old went back to the 7-Eleven near Dallas to figure out what went wrong.

“Hey, something happened with my card. Let me check the machine and see something. And I just literally lifted it up and it was there,” said Rattler.

The young mother shot a video on her smartphone as she popped off the credit card skimmer, revealing an identical card reader underneath.

“She was like, what! I think it surprised her that she actually found one,” said Sgt. Tina Malenfant with the McKinney Police Department. “What she did was she just pulled it right off. It popped right off.”

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Sgt. Malenfant showed us the skimmer. It’s made of a replacement cover that was attached to the real card reader with double-sided tape.

“This little unit that’s on it basically allows for the reading, to read your card, store your card information and allow it to be transmitted to whatever the suspect has, whether it’s a cell phone or computer. They can just download all your information right there,” said Sgt. Malenfant.

Gas pumps used to be the go-to spot for skimming. A single compromised pump can capture information from 30 to 100 cards a day. But now crooks are increasingly seeing the advantage of targeting ATMs and any other point-of-sale devices.

“It’s everywhere. It’s everywhere,” said Adam Colby, Director and Chief Investigator for the Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center. “We’re seeing this not just in convenience stores, we’re seeing it in grocery stores.”

Texas, Florida, and California get hit the hardest by skimming. The Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center will train 700 to 800 law officers this year about the problem.

“We actually teach them how to find skimmers, what they’re looking for, what certain cables are and give them investigative techniques,” said Colby.

The FCIC was fully operational at the start of 2022. As of this fall, Colby says the new state agency is already having an impact.

“Very conservatively, we estimate that we have prevented $44 million dollars from being lost in Texas,” said Colby.

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Spotting skimmers can be very difficult. Rattler says in hindsight, the card reader at the convenience store did seem a little weird. It was bulkier than normal and stuck out a little bit on one side.

Colby says some skimmers don’t line up exactly with the card reader so consumers should be wary if it's hard to insert a chip card in the slot.

“If you feel any resistance as you’re sticking a card in there get it out of there,” said Colby.

“Protect yourself by using credit versus debit any day of the week,” said Malenfant.

Also, police recommend consumers check the charges on their credit and debit cards frequently. That’s what Rattler did, and it allowed her to take quick action.

“Luckily, she knew the last place that she used that card and knew exactly where to go and then was like, I need to see your point-of-sale system. I want to see what happened. I want to see why I have all these charges,” said Malenfant.

FBI Tips When Using an ATM or POS Terminal:

• Inspect ATMs, POS terminals, and other card readers before using. Look for anything loose, crooked, damaged, or scratched. Don't use any card reader if you notice anything unusual.
• Pull at the edges of the keypad before entering your PIN. Then, cover the keypad when you enter your PIN to prevent cameras from recording your entry.
• Use ATMs in a well-lit, indoor location, which are less vulnerable targets.
• Be alert for skimming devices in tourist areas, which are popular targets.
• Use debit and credit cards with chip technology. In the U.S., there are fewer devices that steal chip data versus magnetic strip data.