Thousands of Walmart customers have had their identities and credit card information stolen as criminals and thieves rigged Walmart checkout lines with credit card skimmers.
Credit card skimmers are small, almost imperceptible electronic devices that get placed on top of a credit card reader. When a customer swipes their credit card, the skimmer steals the information off of the credit card’s magnetic strip.
These fraudulent devices were recently found at two Walmart locations. And there may be more, so beware!
The first credit card skimmer was found on May 11 at a Fort Wright, Kentucky Walmart location. Thieves, who have not yet been identified and may work at the store themselves, loaded the device onto the self-checkout machine to scam customers struggling to get out of the store quickly.
One week later, on May 18, Walmart asset protection associates finally got around to finding the device. In that time thousands of people’s credit card information was stolen.
“To go inside a store like Walmart that has a lot of surveillance equipment and install a skimmer is pretty bold,” Fort Wright police chief Dan Kreinest said.
After backtracking and viewing hours of security video, police think they’ve found the two suspects who installed the credit card skimmer. They’ve released their images as seen on the grainy surveillance camera footage to the public. They’re asking locals to help identify the crooks.
“These folks did not park at the Walmart,” Kreinest said. “They actually parked off-site, so we’re pretty certain that’s who we’re looking for.”
Kentucky is not the only state to face this scare. A Fredericksburg, Virginia Central Park Walmart store also had a similar device installed on their checkout machines.
