With incidents of credit card skimming happening not only across the Florida Panhandle but across the country, Rich Aloy, the public information officer with the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, shared some insight to help residents avoid becoming victims to theft.
According to a recent press release from the Walton County Sheriff’s Office, skimmer devices have been discovered on both automated teller machines, or ATM’s, and gas pumps in nearby Okaloosa, Walton and Bay counties. Skimmers are devices affixed to such regularly used machines to collect credit card information. The information would be used by thieves to create ‘cloned’ credit cards, which would then be sold or used to make fraudulent charges.
Aloy said devices, which can be used to produce these 'clone' or fraudulent bank cards, are regularly available for purchase on popular online retailers, such as Amazon.com. Aloy also said a few similar incidents of card skimming have occurred in Santa Rosa County since the beginning of this year.
He suggests residents be observant when using a debit or credit card at such locations.
“Get to know your ATM” Aloy said. “Stick to the same machine, if anything looks unusual report it to the bank.”
Should the ATM have a part which looks out of place or unfamiliar, Aloy recommends not using the ATM and alert the financial institution immediately.
From there bank or credit union officials can report it to the authorities, Aloy said. He also suggests taking extra precautionary measures when entering a personalized number at a ATM.
In a recent airing of the SRSO’s local television program on Blab TV, Aloy said there are two components to the skimming scam.
“It’s a two-part system. One, when you put your card in (the skimmer) is reading your card but it is also allowing it to be read by the ATM machine,” he said. “When you are putting in your pin there is a little camera that is reading your fingers.”
Aloy suggests keeping those fingers covered while entering in a PIN number.
Although there have been reported instances of credit card skimming in the Gulf Breeze and Milton areas, deputies warn residents to be on the lookout for suspicious activity when using their bank card.
Aloy also suggests avoiding using an ATM when traveling out of town.
In order to avoid falling victim to skimming at a service station, the Walton County Sheriff’s Office offers some tips. Like an ATM, residents should be observant before using their card at the pump. Authorities also suggests fueling up at the station closest to the store entrance in view of the attendant. According to the WCSO, skimmers are installed on pumps located outside the view of the store employee.
Authorities also suggest using a credit card instead of a debit card which requires a PIN number. Regardless of whether a resident has fallen victim to fraudulent charges or not, it’s also important to keep track of purchases and report any unknown and suspicious purchases.
This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Deputies give tips on how to avoid credit card skimmers