SAN ANTONIO — High tech thieves are targeting local gas stations and ATMs, using what police are calling very sophisticated technology.
It is technology that millions of people fall victim to each year.
Early Monday morning, a San Antonio man was one of the most recent to find out his back information fell into the wrong hands, with charges all the way in Waco. When the gas station clerk went to check the keypad at the pump, he found a card skimmer screwed into the credit card machine.
“It’s a very small device, you wouldn’t even realize it. Sometimes it looks identical to the actual card swiping device you would use,” said Better Business Bureau Regional Director Miguel Segura.
San Antonio Police Officer Douglas Greene said the thieves will pretend they are using the gas pump themselves and then they will alter the card reader. Authorities said there are steps people can take to protect their information, such as constantly monitoring their bank account statements.
“Think about ATMs especially during these next weeks and months when there’s a lot festivals and a lot of special events going on, we’re tending to swipe our cards a little more freely,” said Segura.
Police also said people should cover the numbers when typing in a PIN on an ATM because thieves will install small cameras.
“The suspects will travel from city to city, inserting these devices, getting as much money as they can and move on,” said Officer Greene.
Anyone that notices fraudulent activity on their card is encouraged to call their bank right away and try to remember where the card was last used and call police.