Another Store in Massachusetts and New York Hit with ATM Skimming Device

Federal investigators have charged a Hudson man with using skimming devices to steal credit card information from various stores in New England and New York.

What are card skimmers and how do they work?

According to CBSNews Boston, skimmers are being installed on regular credit card terminals. The fakes are designed to look like regular machines but with additional electronics to capture data.

The thief then allegedly uses a magnetic key to activate a switch inside the skimmer, sending it the recorded data via Bluetooth, allowing it to gather information about victims. The entire crime takes just seconds.

That’s exactly what Romario Serban of Hudson, Massachusetts, did at 19 different Walmart stores in New York, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine. A criminal complaint has been filed in Western New York after the thief used the devices to steal valuable customer data from thousands of customers in less than a week, from July 2 to July 8, 2023.

According to information gathered by federal investigators at Walmart, more than 27,000 credit cards and 2,000 EBT cards were stolen during this series of thefts.

“In most cases, skimming devices were not detected until several days after they were installed.” – FBI Agent

In all, 15 of Walmart’s 19 stores were located in upstate New York. Prosecutors said Serban installed skimming devices at a store in Hudson, Massachusetts, and another in Seabrook, New Hampshire, on July 4. He allegedly returned to both stores two days later to retrieve the stolen information.

How to protect yourself from credit card skimming?

First, if you notice that one of your checkout terminals looks different, this is usually a red flag.

Another way to ensure strong card security is to periodically change your debit card PIN and password, activate two-step authentication and add fraud alerts to your accounts.