Source of my debit card fraud FOUND...PLEASE read this as a cautionary tale.

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Just went to the Lucky Market right down the street.

There is a checker I've become friends with who was cautioning customers in the self-checkout line to "check their receipts."

Short version is that the fraud incident I posted here yesterday (someone lifted $500 from my checking account) had its roots in this specific store.

I was there at lunch time and had a lot of people waiting in line behind me, so I'll have a longer conversation with my friend in the next couple of days.

But she said that the store was aware of the problem and that "they've hit quite a few other stores in the area as well."

I am assuming it works the same way as ATM fraud...you swipe your card to buy groceries, someone comes in behind you and swipes one of these cards designed to steal your data, and BOOM...you are SCREWED.

I won;t be buying groceries this way again...it's gonna be cash transactions from now on.

[dimbear]

1. Glad that problem was detected, but my theory would be a tapped phone line.

That picks up everybody's cards at once and doesn't require any physical presence.

Another trick is to completely switch out the swipe box with one that remembers all the transactions and later switch it out again with all the data.

[stuntcat]

2. yike

I was reading the convo yesterday! It's got me thinking if I swipe my card anywhere it should only be the machine inside MY bank, which luckily isn't far away.

I'm glad the bank could help you. I'd just want to die if I lost all that.

[Generic Brad]

3. ATM fraud works differently

They steal your data when you swipe your card through an attachment placed over the card reader. That will allow the thieves to process signature based transactions.

They can also capture your pin number with a hidden camera. Then all they need to do is synch up both sets of data, make their own cards with magnetic strips and then clean you out at the ATM.

My guess is they not only traced it back to the specific store, but they were able to trace it back to the specific terminal. Someone at the store most likely set up the card reading device at the terminal their customers were using.

[Amaril]

8. This happened to my ex-husband & his wife.....

.....last Christmas at K-Mart. They swiped their card at the reader on the counter, but it didn't work, so the clerk took the card & swiped it at another one under the cash register -- this was the one that was apparently collecting all the data (not sure how they got the CSC code, though). They didn't think anything about it until they discovered that their checking account had been emptied by someone buying gift cards and game systems (X-box & Wii) online.

[Duer 157099]

4. It's been in our local paper today

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20111205/ARTICLES/111209763/1033/news?Title=Losses-mount-from-skimming-scam-at-Lucky-store-in-Petaluma

[Duer 157099]

5. Did you use the self-checkout stand?

From what I've read, they said those were the devices that were targeted.

[MiddleFingerMom]

6. I REFUSE to use self-checkout... I've even had an employee grab my cart...

.
.
.
... and start DRAGGIMG it towards those things, all the while
me holding it in place (with quite some effort).
.
.
.
Those things cost people JOBS... and they might pass along a
savings to you of 10 cents a trip or so (arbitrary figure --
but I can't imagine the savings are significant to the
consumer.
.
.
.

[blueamy66]

7. And they're a pain in the ass.

coupons, buying liquor, not enough weight "in the bag".....it's drives me crazy and I refuse to use them...