LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Secret Service, in collaboration with state and local law enforcement partners, conducted a community outreach operation targeting payment card skimming and Electronic Benefit Transfer fraud on Dec. 19 and 20 in San Diego, California.
In a groundbreaking two-day operation, personnel from the U.S. Secret Service, San Diego Police Department, the San Diego District Attorney’s Office, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General, visited more than 150 businesses to inspect, identify, and remove illegal skimming devices from ATMs, gas pumps and point-of-sale terminals. In total, 21 skimming devices were recovered preventing financial losses estimated at $63 million. More than 800 point-of-sale terminals, gas pumps and ATMs were inspected during this operation.
“We’ve seen an increase in credit card skimming and EBT fraud in the greater San Diego area,” said Jason Reynolds, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s San Diego Field Office. “Through collaborative law enforcement efforts, we seek to protect the financial infrastructure of the United States, which has led us to operations where we locate and remove skimming devices before people’s debit and credit card data can fall into the hands of criminals.”
The teams also distributed educational materials about EBT fraud and skimming to local businesses to help them better identify the warning signs of illegal skimming devices in their point-of-sale terminals, gas pumps and ATMs.
“People rely on their income and resources to provide for their families. We don’t want them to be taken advantage of. We’re thankful that, with our federal and state partners, we were able to remove many of those devices,” said Chief Scott Wahl of the San Diego Police Department. “With the distribution of the educational materials about EBT fraud and skimming, we want to be proactive and prevent this crime from happening to others.”
Representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture also participated in the outreach, reaffirming their commitment in working with federal, state, and local partners to combat EBT fraud. “Through outreach and education, our goal is to raise awareness and protect consumers,” said Mark Haskin, Supervisor at USDA Food and Nutrition Service. “We aim to ensure that vulnerable community members receive the benefits they are entitled to."
In a statement Monday, San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said, “This demonstrates just how common skimming devices continue to be in our county and how easy it is for people to be scammed out of their hard-earned money. Coming during the holiday season, the losses to the consumer avoided by this operation are even more meaningful. By collaborating with our law enforcement partners, we will continue responding to upticks in these types of crimes, working to stop these thieves and educating the public about the importance of protecting your personal information."
Consumers can take several precautions to protect themselves by remembering the acronym S.H.I.E.L.D:
- S- Scan ATM’s, gas pumps, and card readers for tampering or unusual features before using.
- H- Hide your PIN by covering the keypad with your hand while entering it.
- I- Identify secure, well-lit, and indoor ATM locations to reduce your risk.
- E- Evaluate your options for payment such as using your debit card as credit to protect your PIN.
- L- Look out for skimming devices especially in tourist areas where scams are common.
- D- Deploy chip-enabled cards instead of magnetic strip cards to reduce your risk of fraud.
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