WALMART customers are being warned about a sinister new scheme after they noticed mystery charges on their bank accounts.

Scammers are randomly guessing customers’ card information to make fraudulent purchases at the mega-reatiler.

Redstone Federal Credit Union, Alabama’s largest credit union, released a statement accusing the superstore of allowing charges to go through on its website. 

“Upon discovering the fraudulent charges on member accounts, we have taken the necessary time to understand the situation, ensuring that all member information and funds remain secure,” Redstone wrote in a statement.

The company stated that the charges were due to a sneaky Bank Identification Number attack by scammers. 

The BIN attack is committed by cyber criminals who access bank information “using a method that involves randomly guessing numerous combinations of card numbers until the correct information works, allowing for unauthorized charges.” 

Despite having fraud prevention services in place, such as account alerts and card control settings, Redstone wrote that no company could 100% prevent this attack from happening. 

“Large retailers are particularly vulnerable to BIN attacks because they process a vast number of transactions daily, providing attackers with a wealth of data to exploit,” the company wrote.

Walmart has already issued refunds to 77% of the customers affected, Redstone reported. 

“No Redstone member will suffer a loss as a result of this attack.

“Redstone recognizes how frustrating fraudulent transactions can be, and we take this issue very seriously.

“We have safeguards in place to help prevent fraudulent attacks on our members’ accounts and are diligent in our account monitoring.”

The company said it is in communication with VISA and other partners affected by this situation.

Walmart did not immediately respond to The U.S. Sun’s request for more information.

The BIN scam isn’t the only one to have robbed money from Walmart customers lately.

Several shoppers at a Walmart in Virginia lost hundreds of dollars after discovering an info-stealing device attached to the self-checkout machines.

One woman noticed that the scammers stole all of her money from her Food Stamps card leaving her with nothing when she went to go checkout.

Law enforcement discovered the shopper was a victim of skimmers, which are razor-thin devices that capture card information from unsuspecting victims.’ 

“These devices are super easy, unfortunately, to install,” said Katie Jennings, a crime prevention specialist with the Lynchburg Police Department.

Bank tips for avoiding scams

As scams become more sophisticated with the use of artificial intelligence, it is important you know how to spot a scam:

• Be skeptical of online deals that seem too good to be true, especially on social media.
• Scammers will often use tactics to make you panicked so you make quick decisions – be cautious if you are told to take immediate action and verify who has contacted you.
• Chase Bank warns customers to “never return any unexpected funds without calling Chase first.”
• Never send money to someone you have only spoken to online or by phone as this is likely a romance scam.
• Unless you 100% know who you are talking to, never give someone remote access to your device.
• Never accept help from strangers at an ATM and always be vigilant when making withdrawals.
• Do not send money or click any links indicating that you have won a prize.

Source: Chase.com

“They slip right over the payment terminals.

“You can find them at gas terminals, or self-checkouts, or even at the checkout where there is a cashier.”

With the help of Walmart, police arrested Florin Doroiman for scamming customers. 

“Our partners at Walmart have great cameras that not only lead us to a suspect but also to the suspect’s vehicle,” said Jennings.