It’s not a new trend, but it’s a continuing one.
Banks and gas stations across the country have been targets for credit card thieves, whether it’s at the pump or at the ATM.
“We have a lot of security measures in place to be able to protect our customers,” says Lindsey McClain of American Bank and Trust, “and our team… we educate ourselves on what to look for.”
Police say it’s even happened in Bowling Green.
“About two years ago, we had an incident where someone was trying to use a credit card reader on a gas pump,” says Ronnie Ward of the Bowling Green Police Department. “[The skimmer] looked exactly like it. It would have been really hard to tell. Folks just need to realize that it happened here, and if it happened here it can happen anywhere.”
Lindsay McClain says there’s only so much they can do to protect their customers.
“We check our ATMs at least one time a day, just to make sure that nobody has placed a device on our ATMs,” she explains
McClain says is something doesn’t seem right when you pull up to an ATM, to let the bank know. One measure you can take while you’re actually there is a quick tug on the card reader to make sure what’s on the machine belongs on the machine.
“Usually if you put your card into the slot, there’s a flashing light,” says McClain, “If for some reason there’s something on top of that flashing light, you don’t see it, that potentially could be a skimmer, or if something looks different than the last time you were there, if you just think that something looks different, let someone know, so that we can be assured that it’s safe to use.”
Another thing to look out for is small video cameras where they don’t belong around the ATM.
McClain says you should also protect your PIN numbers, as you type them in.