Card skimmers have been found at Boston-area grocery stores in recent weeks, potentially causing more concern for shoppers as they pick up groceries for the week.
Roche Bros. Supermarkets reported Wednesday that it recently discovered credit card skimmers in five stores:
- Sudbury Farms in Sudbury, Mass.
- Sudbury Farms in Needham, Mass.
- Brothers Marketplace in Weston, Mass.
- Roche Bros. Supermarket in Wellesley, Mass.
- Roche Bros. Supermarket in Natick, Mass.
Card skimmers are devices attached to ATMs or credit card readers that secretly scan cards and steal the data they contain, allowing the person who installed them to use the information to make fraudulent purchases. They're often associated with gas stations, but at least seven of the devices have been discovered in New England stores in the last two months.
Latest map skimmer reports from Mass., NH
Concord, New Hampshire
In mid-November, Concord police warned that two men who had been trying to scam customers out of their credit card information across New England were seen on surveillance video installing skimmers at a local Walmart and Market Basket.
On Oct. 19, Walmart on Loudon Road alerted police that a store loss prevention employee had found a credit card scanner attached to one of the self-checkout registers. On Oct. 27, police received a call from Market Basket on Storrs Street saying a similar device had been found on one of their express checkout lanes, officials said.
Devices to steal credit card information were installed at several Market Basket and Walmart stores in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.
Concord police said their investigation revealed that both devices they observed were installed by the same two people on Oct. 17. And they said similar incidents were being investigated by law enforcement agencies across New England.
Reading, Massachusetts
Reading police said they received a call on Oct. 30 from a security and loss prevention employee at Market Basket who said a skimming device had been found on a credit card machine at a checkout counter at the store on Oct. 26.
The device was found by Market Basket employees the same day it was placed, and a review of the data by the store's IT department revealed that it was removed before customer data could be stolen. A review of surveillance video shows one person distracted an employee while another planted the skimming device at the credit card machine.
One of the suspects was described as a male, wearing a black hat, face mask, black jacket, white shirt, black jeans and white shoes. The other was described as a man wearing a black hat, face mask, black jacket, black shirt, blue jeans and white and black sneakers.
Reading police said they are investigating the incident with assistance from law enforcement partners in other communities in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Chelsea, Massachusetts
On December 5, Chelsea Police warned the public about a skimming device found in a checkout counter at the local Market Basket.
“We have the device and are working with Market Basket and our regional partners to determine if the devices are related to other recent incidents,” the post said.
Police told NBC10 Boston at the time that the skimmer device was only operating for six minutes. A group of people were involved – one distracted an employee while another placed the device at the checkout.
According to police, a credit card skimmer was found in a Market Basket in Chelsea, Massachusetts.
Sudbury, Massachusetts
Roche Bros. Supermarkets announced on Christmas Eve that two credit card scanners were found on pin pads at self-checkouts at its Sudbury Farms grocery store on Route 20.
The company's CEO said in a statement that it “took immediate steps to secure all registries at all locations and initiated an investigation.”
Roche Bros. Supermarkets said the skimmers were discovered at the Sudbury Farms store.
The investigation continued until Christmas Day. Roche Bros. said it determined the Sudbury Farms store in Sudbury was the only affected location.
“Roche Bros. has strict policies in place to protect against incidents of this nature, including conducting multiple security audits of our registries on a daily basis,” said CEO Kevin Barner. “Roche Bros. is committed to protecting the confidentiality and security of our customers’ information and is issuing a press release to reach affected and potentially affected customers whom we cannot specifically identify.”
How to protect yourself from card skimmers
A tell-tale sign that a skimmer is in place is that the card reader slot is inoperable and appears to be jammed, causing the customer to swipe the card so that the magnetic reader can steal the card information.
Market Basket told NBC10 Boston that routine security checks occur daily, which resulted in suspicious devices being found at stores in Concord and Nashua, New Hampshire, as well as Haverhill, Reading and Somerville, Massachusetts.
The FBI shared this infographic showing where criminals can place devices to steal information from card users:
If you made a purchase with a card at a store where a skimmer was found, you should check your account and report anything suspicious to the credit card company or your bank.
If your information has been compromised, you may also want to consider closing accounts or freezing your credit.