The discovery of credit card skimming devices in Massachusetts has spread to more grocery stores, with Roche Bros. Supermarkets finding skimmers in five different locations, including Sudbury Farms in Sudbury, Sudbury Farms in Needham, Brothers Marketplace in Weston, Roche Bros. Supermarket in Wellesley, and Roche Bros. Supermarket in Natick, according to reports from CBS News Boston.
These devices are used to capture credit card data for fraudulent use and recent incidents have raised concerns among shoppers. The skimmers were located at self-checkout lanes and Roche Bros. has issued a statement that they have taken measures to secure their registers and are looking into the matter; they have urged customers who used those specific checkout lanes on or before Christmas Eve to watch their accounts for any suspicious activity, though no customer data has reportedly been compromised as of yet, they are taking this issue seriously and are committed to protecting customer information as Kevin Barner, CEO of Roche Bros., told sources.
Earlier incidents involved two men who targeted shoppers in Concord, New Hampshire by installing skimmers at a local Walmart and Market Basket, surveillances identified these men placing the skimming devices on October 17, a discovery that prompted a wider investigation by law enforcement agencies throughout New England. Authorities have been alerted to similar skimming attempts at stores in Reading and Chelsea, where police were able to recover the devices before any customer information was stolen, as reported by local law enforcement in a statement obtained by NBC Boston.
The FBI has shared tips on spotting skimmers, such as looking for jammed card chip readers and checking for loose parts on machines. Also, daily routine security checks which Market Basket reported to NBC10 Boston led to the discovery of suspicious devices, if customers do find themselves victims of these skimming devices, authorities advise them to immediately report the incident to their bank or credit card company and consider freezing their credit or closing their accounts, which will help prevent further unauthorized use of their information.
