Another Massachusetts And New York Store Hit With ATM Skimming Device

Federal investigators have charged a Hudson man for using skimming devices to steal credit card information from different store locations in New England and New York.

What Are Card Skimmers And How Do They Work?

According to CBSNews Boston, skimmers are installed on top of normal credit card terminals. The fakes are designed to look like a normal machine, but with additional electronics to capture data.

Then the thief allegedly uses a magnetic key fob to activate a switch inside the skimmer, sending him stored data through Bluetooth, allowing him to collect victims' information. The whole crime only takes 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 was filed in western New York, as the thief used the devices to steal the valuable data from thousands of customers in less than a week, from July 2 to July 8, 2023.

According to Walmart information collected by federal investigators, more than 27,000 credit cards and 2,000 EBT cards were stolen in the spree.

"In most cases, the skimming devices were not discovered until a few days after they were installed." - FBI Agent

A total of fifteen of the 19 Walmart stores were 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 came back to both stores two days later to download the stolen information.

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How Do You Protect Yourself From Credit Card Skimming?

First things first, if you notice one terminal looks different on the checkout aisles, that's usually a red flag.

Also changing your debit card PIN and passwords periodically, activating two-step authentication and adding fraud alerts to your accounts is another way to have strong security on your card.