Authorities in Sioux Falls say officials found card skimmers on two bank ATM machines. Thieves place the devices to capture financial information so they can gain access to accounts. Police say this is the first time they’ve found credit card skimmers in the area.
Officials say they believe no one’s card information is compromised after skimmers recorded sensitive material at two ATMs in the southwest part of the city.
Officer Sam Clemens with the Sioux Falls Police Department says authorities removed the skimmers before people trying to steal financial information could retrieve them. Clemens says the devices have two parts.
“One of them goes over the slot where you insert the card. The other one has a camera that records the PIN number,” Clemens says. “And they record that, and they’re able to get the data from the swiped card but then also they have the PIN number, and that’s how they access it.”
Clemens says the skimmers are not obvious, and the cameras are tiny. He says people should pay attention to the way their ATM looks. Clemens recommends a simple gesture to help protect against fraud.
“Even if there’s nobody around, it’s still a good idea to place a hand above the keypad when you’re entering your PIN number, just on the off-chance that there is a skimmer that’s been installed on there and you don’t notice it. They’d have your card information, but they wouldn’t have your PIN number,” Clemens says.
Clemens says the Sioux Falls Police Department has turned over the skimmer investigation to the Secret Service.