Elizabethtown police seize 3 credit card skimmers from local retail stores

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The Elizabethtown Police Department said scammers have upped their game.

Card skimming theft can happen at ATMs, gas stations, restaurants or retail stores for people using credit or debit cards. A skimmer is a device that's installed on card readers that gathers card numbers.

"It's a matter of seconds. They can install these in literally seconds," said John Thomas, with the Elizabethtown Police Department.

Thomas said more recently scammers have honed in on a new target -- stores.

"It's concerning. A lot of people feel very secure when they go into a retail establishment as they should. So this is kind of an alarming new trend," Thomas said.

Police said thieves later recover the skimmers and use the card information to make fraudulent purchases.

Officers have seized three skimmers in the last month, the department said in a Facebook post Tuesday. Elizabethtown Police said the skimmers were set up in local retail stores at self checkouts and even staffed check-out counters.

"They will usually use a couple of people, one will distract the checkout person get them to turn away and the other person will install the device very quickly," Thomas said. "It's a distraction technique that they use and unfortunately they're quite good at it."

Police encourage businesses to routinely check for skimming devices in their registers.

"So thus far it has been difficult to track down and identify who is doing this," Thomas said. "The fact that we are on an interstate means that a lot of these scammers are interested in interstate criminals they will install these devices and cities along the interstate so we can't say for sure whether or not these are locals or even residents of this state.

"And that makes it a challenge. A lot of these scammers work together in large groups. Some of them are elements of organized crime and larger cities and they reach out to smaller communities for this type of crime. So we need members of the public who have any information whatsoever to contact us."

When using a self checkout, make sure to check that it looks legitimate.

"If your information to know, if your information has been compromised at one of these skimmers, there is often a significant delay between the time your card is compromised and actually utilized," Thomas said. "A lot of time there are full supply chains, where one group actually does the skimming, and they a will sell that information to another group, who will actually make new cards and actually start using it. So, it could be weeks or months between the time your card is actually compromised and used. So, it's so important to monitor your cards and information."

"Retail skimming has become a statewide issue," Elizabethtown Police said in a Facebook post. "Please share, and if you have any info about skimmers in our area, please give us a call or call Hardin County Crime Stoppers at 800-597-8123."

On July 8, the Shelbyville Police Department helped the Shelbyville Save-A- Lot manager remove an illegal credit card skimming device from the store. Sgt. Kelly Cable, a Shelbyville police officer, said the company sent out a notice after skimmers had been detected in groceries in Lexington.

If you've shopped at a Save-A-Lot in the Kentuckiana area, police said you should check for unfamiliar purchases. The charges usually occur in small increments and then gradually become larger.

Police said using tap to pay instead of swiping or inserting the chip can help prevent a skimmer from getting your card information.

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