EAST COUNTY RESIDENTS HIT BY DEBIT, CREDIT CARD SKIMMING SCAMS AT CONVENIENCE STORES

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By Miriam Raftery; Thea Skinner contributed to this report

January 12, 2017 (San Diego’s East County) – Numerous local residents say that after using their debit cards inside a Circle K store in La Mesa, thieves attempted to withdraw money from their bank accounts.  Similar scams have been used recently at other local gas stations and convenience stores. 

Authorities indicate that sophisticated ID theft skimming rings are operating across California and the nation—and are now under investigation by the U.S. Secret Service. The crooks attach a device to credit card machines, often at gas pumps, or ATM machines. Some are now hooked up to Blue Tooth, allowing thieves to use a mobile device such as a laptop to wirelessly download data on card users including names, addresses, account and PIN numbers.

Adrienne Johnson posted on Mt. Helix Next Door forum that within a few days after using her debit card inside the La Mesa Circle to buy drinks, thieves used an ATM machine in Oceanside to try and withdraw $403.25 from her bank account.  “Two days later my husband’s card had the same attempt following a trip there,” she wrote.  Returning to the store to complain, she says she learned that “at least 10 others have had the same issue, including employees, and management is doing nothing.”  She said the manager’s name was Dave.

Some residents voiced anger at the Circle K management for a lack of apparent concern over customers’ losses.  East County Magazine called Circle K and spoke to a manager who identified himself as “David” who hung up after learning we were media inquiring about the debit card scam complaints.

ECM left a call with Circle K’s corporate office that has not been returned.  A Google search for “Circle K” + “Skimmers” found over 6,000 results, though other outlets have also been targeted by skimming scamsters.

Johnson gave permission for ECM to publish her name and details of her story. Several other posters on the same forum posted that they had experiences similar to Johnson’s after using the neighborhood Circle K. 

Another forum member said after she went to the Circle K last week, “someone made a fake ATM card and took $500 dollars out of our account.”

“We go to Circle K and I also had my debit card number stolen and they got $500 last Thursday,” a different poster wrote. “Thankfully my bank replaced the funds.”

Yet another said the same thing happened at the La Mesa Circle K within the past few days after she, too, used a debit card there.  Two attempts to withdraw funds, each for several hundred dollars, also failed.

Another Mt. Helix resident said her card was also compromised after it was used at Circle K.  “They hit ATMs in Mission Viejo, pulling out $400 each time,” she stated.

Johnson, who posted the original complaint online that prompted a flood of responses, says she notified La Mesa Police after getting no satisfaction from Circle K, however, she has postponed a meeting to file a report due to the officer being late for their appointment. A call from ECM to LMPD confirmed that they are aware of the issue.

Another forum poster said she recently had fraud involving her debit card after using it at an Arco Station on Campo Road near Bancroft in Spring Valley. She said she did not file a report with law enforcement.

ECM called the San Diego Sheriff’s Department and spoke with Detective Catano, who confirmed she has had several cases from approximately June to October last year involving debit or credit card skimmers.  “One person was arrested,” she said. 

In those cases, people were breaking into gas pumps to install skimmers and stealing both credit and debit card information.  Skimmers can also be compromised inside stores, as this video shows a criminal in the act of doing:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BFRD8_LrcM.  

The City of El Cajon has also had skimming cases at convenience store gas pumps within the past year.

Catano added, “I know San Diego Police Department has had other cases; they arrested someone.”

She said the Sheriff’s department has been working with Secret Service in San Diego, which is responsible for investigating cyber crimes and threats to the nation’s payment and financial systems.

The problem is widespread. “It’s all over the state. It’s not just one group.  It’s multiple different groups.”

With Bluetooth, criminals no longer need to open up machines when they return to the crime scene to withdraw data.  “They just need to get in a car, with a laptop, download all the info, delete it and in a couple of days, do the same thing over and over,” Catano says.

She’s seen cases where thieves used stolen data to buy a credit card at 7-11 and print a phony name it. “When they go shopping, it shows Jane Doe but they are actually using your card numbers,” she warns.

 A key problem, she says, is that it’s most often the “mules” or those shopping with stolen cards at Target or Wal-Mart who get caught, while the masterminds remain at large.  Even those caught typically “don’t even get sentenced long enough to stop this.”

Many victims fail to report thefts to authorities, particularly since banks and credit cards are required to block or reverse fraudulent charges, as long as you notify your bank or credit card company.  Many places only keep surveillance videos for a week or a few weeks, so evidence may be lost if crimes are not promptly reported and investigated.

Special Agent David Murray with the U.S. Secret Service in San Diego says the agency can’t comment on cases under investigation or how many skimming thefts have occurred locally.  But he said, “The crime is widespread…It’s a crime that’s primarily driven because it’s easy access,” such as at self-service gas station pumps.  Other common targets include restaurants and hotels.

Mobile equipment used for skimming is easily available online, with user friendly software and hardware, Agent Murray explains.  “The skimmed information on payment data can be submitted via email all over the world,” he says. “Within a couple of hours, purchases are being made, whether on the Internet or in stores.”

He adds that there is no profile on criminals who commit these types of crimes. “We investigate people that range from individual suspects to large organized groups, and from local criminals to international organized crime syndicates.”

Tips for Consumers

If you witness someone tampering with a credit card machine, ATM, or credit card slot such as on a gas pump, notify local authorities immediately. Also notify authorities promptly if you have been a victim of a debit or credit card skimming scam.

Before using an ATM machine, look at it carefully.  If the ATM machine is loose, crooked or damaged, don’t’ use it—and report it, Agent Murray advises.  It may have a skimmer or a camera installed to steal your identity and data.

For credit card slots on gas pumps or other places, “tug on the card slot to see if it’s loose. Slide your fingers across the opening to see if anything is protruding out of there,” says Agent Murray, since some skimming devices are affixed over the top of the authentic device built into the machine.

Look for seals on gas pump credit cards and never use a slot that doesn’t have one, says Detective Catano. But even if there is a seal, that’s no guarantee that It’s legitimate, since the seals are sold online and thieves sometimes put seals on to cover their tracks.

Use cash or a credit card instead of a debit card.  Both Catano and Murray agree on this advice, since credit cards will instantly block or reverse fraudulent transactions. Banks are supposed to refund money illegally withdrawn, but there can be delays—and meanwhile you could be bouncing checks or automatic payment transactions, or find yourself without cash to withdraw.

Check your credit card balances and bank account balances regularly, even daily, advises Catano.  Thieves often test out counterfeit cards made with your data by making small transactions first, so report even minor amounts charged that look suspicious and consider changing your account or card number once it’s been compromised.

The website Krebs on Security has conducted studies of skimming incidents in Arizona and found that crooks don’t target places such as filling stations randomly. “They tend to focus on those that neglect to deploy various tools designed to minimize such scams, including security cameras, non-standard pump locks and tamper-proof security tape,” the security site concludes.  

According to Krebs, skimmers also prefer locations close to a major highway so they can get away quickly if needed.  Pumps near and directly in view of clerks may be less likely to be targeted for skimming than those farther away.


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Comments

Stores with ATM's can take steps to protect customers

Use Bluetooth/Wi-Fi Scanners.
Use one of the free Bluetooth/Wi-Fi scanner apps available for most smart phones to regularly scan for any new/unrecognized signals/devices. Run a “baseline” scan of your store, making note of the “normal” signals/networks/devices, so you can detect any changes in subsequent scans.

Great tip, Gene! Thanks.

Hope Circle K gets one. Some people on the forum are talking about picketing the place. .This manager should get a clue and show his customers he's taking steps to protect them, instead of ignoring complaints and hanging up on media!

I use cash

I go inside my bank, write a check for $300 cash.