Card duplicator found at Felton Dollar General

FELTON — As technology advances, new ways to illegally distribute private information are emerging.

One method is skimmers that can be connected to retailers’ credit card readers. These devices retrieve information from the card to later access owners’ accounts.

Christina Latchum was the latest victim of a skimmer.

“Over the last few months, my debit card has been constantly hacked,” she said this week. “I kept having to go to the bank and order a new debit card. Since then I’ve become paranoid because it keeps happening to me.

Then on June 19, she discovered a card skimmer at a newly installed self-checkout register at the Dollar General in Felton.

“I visit them all the time,” Ms. Latchum said. “I visit them more often than Walmart.”

However, after her card was repeatedly hacked, she remained cautious when making purchases, checking the checkout equipment before using it. It was no different when she and her oldest son went to Dollar General for snacks last week.

“When my son was selecting snacks, the machine looked as normal as possible. It didn’t look suspicious, so I decided to pull it, and when I barely pulled it, it opened and I saw the keyboard behind it,” Ms. Latchum said.

She knew immediately what she had found.

“When I saw the keyboard, my heart sank and I immediately knew it was a skimmer.”

She called 911 and was told police were on their way. That’s when she started recording a video of the event on her phone.

At the same time, a Dollar General employee was on the phone with a manager who asked to speak to Ms. Latchum.

She reluctantly listened as the man on the other end of the line demanded that she give the skimmer back to the employee, she added.

Although Mrs. Latchum did not want to hand over the skimmer until police arrived, she gave it to an employee who told her that the manager wanted a photo of the device. However, the employee then grabbed the skimmer and locked it in the store’s office, she added.

As the number of customers increased, Ms. Latchum called the police again and was told they were on their way and to go to her vehicle.

While in her car, she received a call from a person identifying herself as an officer who told her to leave the area. “I went outside with my son and not even a minute later a private number called me, I answered and the man said, ‘This is Cpl. Sims and I have just personally examined the skimmer and determine that it is not a skimmer and you should leave the store immediately,” Ms. Latchum said.

However, no police officer ever arrived on the scene, she said, adding that as of Monday afternoon, she was still waiting to hear from the Delaware State Police or the Felton Police Department.

“I just get in my car and drive away, but something is bothering me,” Ms. Latchum said. “I had all these videos, so I put them on social media and it immediately became a sensation.”

The following day, Felton police posted a statement on social media, warning followers about the skimming device and its location, and encouraging customers to “monitor their accounts for any fraudulent activity.”

“We seized a skimming device,” Police Chief Christopher Guild said. “We have it in the evidence. We have contacted the Attorney General’s office to inform them of the incident, as well as the United States Secret Service and the Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Sheriff’s Office.

The Montgomery County agency has been specially trained in these skimming devices and will conduct a full forensic investigation into them.

Chief Guild added that as of Monday, no suspects had been identified in connection with the crime. However, the department is waiting for video footage of the discovery of the skimmer.

“We recently spoke to the store manager, she checked (the card readers) on Monday and there was nothing on them,” he said.

Meanwhile, two days after the skimmer was found in Felton, another one was located at the Dollar General in Georgetown, also at the self-checkout.

“I know another skimming device was found at the Georgetown Dollar General,” Chief Guild said. “I don’t know if there is any connection. Could they be related, no doubt, but the investigation isn’t far enough along to prove it yet.

We reached an employee on Wednesday who answered the phone at the Felton store and said staff had no comment.

But as such incidents become more common, Ms. Latchum wants to help others protect their money.

“I just want to warn people to watch when you use your card. Check the machine, pull it and see if it comes out, because if there’s a skimmer on it, (it comes out) very easily,” she said.

Several hacks on her card prompted her to investigate the devices.

“When they started hacking my card, I started using the Internet,” Ms. Latchum said. “I started on TikTok like everyone else, looking for skimmers and seeing people sharing videos of the same thing happening to them at gas stations and so on.

“I studied and that’s how I managed to catch it. It was just crazy.”