A skimming operation appears to have targeted neighborhood checkout counters in Philadelphia and South Jersey, with surveillance video showing one suspect distracting an employee while another worked over a payment terminal. The devices were found before shoppers’ information was stolen in at least three reported cases, but police say the tactic can leave a small store fighting both fraud and the loss of customer trust.
According to NBC10 Philadelphia, surveillance footage from 3 Brothers Mini Market in National Park appears to show someone placing an overlay skimmer on a payment terminal. The installation reportedly took only seconds, making it easy to miss during a busy store visit.
Store owner Richard Espinal told NBC10 that the suspects appeared to know exactly what they were doing, with one person allegedly pulling an employee’s attention away while another installed the device. A similar incident was captured at a Philadelphia bodega, and Ashley Estevez of Movimiento Tricolor said the organization had learned of at least three comparable cases this month — all discovered before customer information was stolen.
Why These Skimmers Can Blend Into A Checkout Counter
The U.S. Secret Service says criminals use hidden devices on point-of-sale terminals to capture payment-card information, and some overlays can also record PIN entries. Its public advisory on skimming recommends checking for loose, crooked, damaged or mismatched parts before using a reader.
The warning is especially familiar in South Jersey. An April 2025 alert from the Camden County Board of Social Services said skimmers had been found at stores in Pennsauken and Mount Ephraim, and urged EBT users to lock their cards when they were not in use, monitor accounts and report suspicious activity to police.
What Shoppers Should Check Before Paying
Customers should pause if a terminal looks different from nearby machines, feels loose or makes entering a PIN unusually difficult. The Federal Trade Commission advises shoppers not to use a suspicious reader, to alert store staff and to check bank or benefit accounts frequently for unauthorized activity.
This is not the first skimming scare to hit the Philadelphia–South Jersey corridor. Hoodline previously reported on a 2025 investigation involving suspected skimmers at Philadelphia and Pennsauken stores, underscoring how quickly a device placed on one payment terminal can become a regional warning for shoppers and small-business owners.
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