SELF-CHECKOUT users have been warned to check the payment machines before using them after data-stealing devices have been found.
Two unidentified retailers in Rochester, Minneapolis, were targeted by thieves who attached what is known as a skimmer device to a self-checkout.
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Card skimmers steal the banking data of anyone who uses an ATM, self-checkout, or self-service gas pump with the device fitted to it.
“RPD received a report of ‘skimmers’ on self check-outs at two large retailers in Rochester last week,” the department told Post Bulletin.
“Skimmers are attachments installed on card readers that collect debit and/or credit card numbers.
“Criminals place them on self check-outs, gas pumps, and ATMs.”
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Lt. Ryan Lodermeier of the Rochester Police Department detailed how one of the devices in Minneapolis was discovered.
“I believe it was a loss prevention officer at the shopping center saw some suspicious activity when these persons were checking out,” Lodermeier told CBS news affiliate WCCO-TV.
“They reviewed the video a little bit closer and it was amazing at how it just took only a matter of seconds before these individuals removed an item, a skimming machine, from their coat and applied it right on the top of the payment device.”
“These machines can be on payment devices for quite a while before anyone discovers them,” he added.
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“Fortunately the retail store did an excellent job of being aware, seeing something that was odd and addressing it and calling us right away.”
The police have confirmed that no one was impacted by the device that was found at the retailer and has issued a warning to shoppers about how they can spot them.
Firstly, users must see if the machine looks strange or unusual or as if it has been tampered with.
If suspicions are raised, shoppers should try and compare the card reader with others nearby and look out for differences.
Before inserting a card or entering any information, users should check if anything on or around the reader is loose or off-center, according to the police department.
However, the safest way to avoid becoming a victim if you suspect something is to go to a manned register.
Those who have almost been duped by the skimmer devices have also shared other tips including keeping an eye out for glue.
TikToker (@plkup) shared a video of a seemingly normal-looking ATM and then revealed that it was not.
“Notice that there’s a little bit of glue, you can see it right here,” he said.
“And just because I’m paranoid with cybersecurity so I decided to just go ahead and give it a tug.”
In the video, he was able to pull off the slot to reveal it was a card skimmer.
“It actually comes right off. This is very well made, you can see it’s an exact replica.”
The card skimmer looked like the atm’s original green card slot underneath.
Last month the Missouri Police Department told gas pump users to do exactly that after three skimmers were found on different pumps.
“Just a quick, gentle pull on the credit card scanner will be enough to tell if an illegal one is installed. If the scanner easily comes off, then it is an illegal scanner,” the department wrote in a recent Facebook post.
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Meanwhile, Walmart customers in Ohio and South Dakota have also reported the use of skimmers at the retailer’s self-checkout areas.
The U.S. Sun previously reported on a Bank of America ATM user in California who lost $1,500 due to a skimming machine.