On Wednesday July 3rd, the Fairfield, Connecticut Police Department issued a warning to the public about a skim device they found which records credit card informaion. The FPD posted the alert to their official Facebook page writing:

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"A skimming device was found on an ATM at the Mobil Gas Station, located at 1271 Stratfield Road, on Monday, July 1. An ATM repair technician discovered the device, but it is unknown when it was placed there."
This is happening all over Connecticut, including an incident in Berlin a few months back. These devices and scams are becoming all too regular these days so it requires some work on our part to make sure we don't become victims. Below is some helpful information I gathered back in May that will help you identify and avoid Credit card skimmers.

How to Spot a Credit Card Skimmer

Time says:

Credit card skimmers are physical—often bulky—apparatuses that you should be able to spot. Some skimmers appear uncannily official, whether they’re a simple extension inserted into the credit card reader or an intricate shell that covers the entire terminal. The easiest way to detect a credit card skimmer is to yank, pull, and tug. Before you put your card into a point-of-sale terminal, wiggle a few parts of the machine to see if anything is loose.

 

The Berlin Police Department adds:

  • Check for alignment issues between the card reader and the panel underneath it
  • Skimmers are often placed on top of the actual card reader making it stick out at an odd angle or cover arrows in a panel

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Secret Service agents and FICO reps told Cleveland.com say

The safest payment method is using a tap-to-pay feature, whether it built into the credit card or on your phone. FICO says tap-to-pay hides card details from the ATM or PIN pad, and replaces them with a token that is “nearly impossible to decrypt.

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