Fayette County sheriff warns residents about card skimmers

Editor’s note: the above video is from previous coverage.

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office is warning residents about card skimmers found at three local dollar stores.

The skimming machines are designed to steal consumers’ card information, but are also aiding in the theft of billions in stolen federal taxpayer dollars from electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: US Secret Service seizes 41 skimming devices in Metro Atlanta, Columbus

Most skimming machines target cards and users who use a magnetic stripe at a credit card machine. They consist of a piece of plastic with a rubber keypad and technology that records the card data and any numbers that are entered on the keypad.

Secret Service agents said it takes seconds to place on a card reader and criminals can come back to retrieve an SD card with data, but they are seeing more criminals are using Bluetooth to access the information without touching the machines again.

Fayette County officials are encouraging residents to use tap-to-pay when possible or inspect credit card machines and call 911 when they find a skimmer.