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A BRAZEN shopper was caught on camera placing a skimming device at a grocery store checkout – right in front of a staffer.
The surveillance footage showed one man wearing a striped winter-style hat distracting the staffer inside the Ohio store while the other tampered with the card machine.
Skimming devices are thin strips that read card numbers and steal payment information from customers.
The readers are tiny so they go unnoticed by shoppers as thieves disguise them into the machine.
The brazen act happened at a Market District location in Westlake, located around 140 miles from Pittsburgh, on March 22 , according to the ABC affiliate WEWS-TV.
Police footage showed one man at the checkout in conversation with the cashier.
He appeared to be pointing at something on his cell phone.
The man was seen pointing at something else in the store.
While the other man, who was wearing a baseball cap, was standing near the payment kiosk, tampering with the machine.
And, the worker didn’t appear to notice.
“They’re very slick,” Jerry Vogel, the Westlake Police captain, told the Fox affiliate WJW-TV.
Staffers later noticed that the card machine had been tampered with and reported the incident.
Cops combed through surveillance footage and identified the men’s car as an Acura SUV thanks to license plate reader technology.
The car was snapped in the area days later, which prompted cops to hone in.
Police also revealed that one man tried to get data from the reader, but they were unable to do so.
Cops arrested Lazar Petru Calin, 39, and Istvan Szabo, 35, in a parking lot near the supermarket after monitoring the car.
Police said their behavior appeared suspicious and they even showed fake ID.
Petru-Calin, 39, was wanted by cops in Romania, while Szabo is from Croatia.
Market District is owned by Giant Eagle and a spokesperson for the supermarket chain said retail workers check payment devices often.
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.
And, they confirmed they encourage shoppers to use contactless payment services.
It only takes criminals seconds to install a skimming device, according to the FBI.
And, they are not just installed at payment terminals inside supermarkets.
Unscrupulous scammers are also known for targeting gas stations and ATMs.
Experts at Cellbunq have also warned skimmers may not be physical devices, making them even trickier to spot.
Scammers can even put Bluetooth skimmers that obtain details from shoppers who use contactless services.
And, they may even install software that captures credit card data.
Shoppers should use different payment terminals if they notice any anomalies.
For instance, the buttons may not line up or the pad might feel bulgy.
