SAN ANTONIO \u2013 Chances are you\u2019ll never see it coming \u2014 a particular type of fraud that largely affects holders of debit and credit cards. Specifically, that fraud is done through the use of \u201cskimmers,\u201d or high-tech devices that criminals place inside credit card terminals to steal personal information.<\/p>\n
By collecting that info, they can then clone and even empty out people\u2019s accounts.<\/p>\n
Skimming is a crime that the U.S. Secret Service\u2019s Criminal Investigative Division said has been on the increase all across the country.<\/p>\n
The agency said EBT cards, which people receiving government assistance use to buy food, have also been coming under attack recently. <\/p>\n
As a result, special teams of those federal agents working with local law enforcement officers have been on a mission to shut down that crime.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnywhere across the country, we\u2019re finding them right now because these groups know that our systems are vulnerable,\u201d said Mike Peck, Assistant Special Agent in Charge. \u201cWe\u2019re estimating that every skimmer we find and take off the streets is worth about $1,041,000 in fraud loss.\u201d<\/p>\n
During a crackdown in San Antonio this week, known as \u201cOperation: Come and Take It,\u201d 15 teams dropped in on convenience stores and other businesses across the city.<\/p>\n
Their top goal was to call attention to a bold new frontier for criminals: countertop credit card terminals found in stores. They also removed any skimmers that they found.<\/p>\n
According to the Secret Service, agents found 17 illegal skimming devices at more than 4,300 point-of-sale terminals, gas pumps and ATMs at 712 businesses across the Alamo City. <\/p>\n
In years past, gas pumps and ATMs were the favored targets for this type of fraud.<\/p>\n
Team member Laura Bravo demonstrated how criminals are now installing plastic overlays on the countertop machines that resemble their original surfaces. <\/p>\n
However, these devices include circuitry that allows crooks to secretly collect information from customers\u2019 cards.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s recommended that businesses check (the machines) morning, middle of the afternoon, evening,\u201d Bravo said.<\/p>\n
It takes only seconds, Bravo said, for criminals to install the devices, usually when a store clerk is distracted for a moment. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey might ask for a pack of cigarettes just to distract the employee,\u201d Bravo said.<\/p>\n
During a stop at a downtown store, team members briefed Roger Castillo on the telltale signs of trouble.<\/p>\n
The store clerk, who said he already inspects his machines regularly, was still grateful for the warnings.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important information,\u201d Castillo said. \u201cIt can save the money for the people, the customers.\u201d <\/p>\n
Team members hope customers will also safeguard themselves by doing their own inspections.<\/p>\n
Bravo suggested looking closely for abnormalities in the machines, and maybe even gently tugging on the plastic surface.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe use tap-to-pay,\u201d Bravo said. \u201cIt\u2019s a little safer than inserting your card.\u201d<\/p>\n
More recent crime coverage on KSAT: <\/p>\n
Copyright 2025 by KSAT – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN ANTONIO \u2013 Chances are you\u2019ll never see it coming \u2014 a particular type of fraud that largely…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":26972,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[18741,294,4667,82,84,83,632,18742,18743],"class_list":["post-26971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-credit-card-fraud","tag-crime","tag-crime-fighters","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news","tag-sapd","tag-skimmers","tag-u-s-secret-service"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26971"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26971\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}