ORLANDO, Fla — The U.S. Secret Service is warning transnational criminal organizations are targeting shoppers in central Florida. The Action 9 consumer investigative team rode along with federal agents as they worked with local law enforcement to try to track down hidden credit card skimming devices inside stores across Orange, Seminole and Osceola counties.
The skimming devices are designed to steal credit and debit card information when you swipe or insert them into point-of-sale machines at stores and gas pumps. The criminals also place them inside ATMs.
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That’s why the Secret Service flooded the streets of central Florida to let stores and shoppers know to be on the alert and educate them about how the criminals operate.
They went to store to store checking the machines using specialized equipment to try to detect skimming devices hidden inside he machines or even placed on top of the real machines. The skimmers are designed to blend in so shoppers and store clerks won’t notice them.
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Special Agent in Charge of the Orlando Field Office of the U.S. Secret Service, Caroline O’Brien-Buster, said EBT users are targeted most often because they don’t offer the same protections as regular credit and debit cards.
“They’re so easy to skim. There’s not, there’s not a lot of… there’s actually zero security on them,” O’Brien-Buster said.
The Secret Service let the Action 9 team know this brings in billions of dollars a year just in EBT fraud alone. The scammers involved are often part of a criminal enterprise from overseas, most commonly from eastern Europe.
Once the criminals capture customer information, they can use it to buy things or even sell it on the dark web.
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The U.S. Secret Service is doing this outreach, to educate the merchants on what to look out for, to track down hidden devices and possibly even gather evidence to crack down on criminals. The ultimate goal is to keep consumers’ money safe.
Action 9 Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal asked, “How devastating is this for the families that get wiped out?”
O’Brien-Buster said, “It’s devastating. Think about it like so you’re going down to pick up your things for Thanksgiving dinner, and you go to use your card and it’s empty.”
The Secret Service shared surveillance video from a central Florida store that showed the criminals in action. The video showed a clerk turning away for a brief moment and a man at the counter quickly snapping a skimming device on top the real credit card reader.
Michael Peck, U.S. Secret Service Assistant Special Agent in Charge of Investigations said, “The bad guys that are doing this are really good at social engineering, and they’re quick.”
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Today, agents confiscated at least seven skimming devices from local stores that had no idea the devices were there. Investigators believe the more skimmers they can take off the streets, the less likely it will be for families in need to go without food.
The U.S. Secret Service has been doing similar operations in cities across the country and recently shut down a couple of operations where people were assembling the skimming devices.
Investigators say using the tap-to-pay option is the safest way to pay and encourage EBT users to change their PIN frequently.
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