SHREVEPORT, La. — Two Romanian nationals arrested in Louisiana are the latest to allegedly take advantage of our reliance on using plastic at checkout and skimmed critical data.
According to federal authorities, the arrests of suspects Andrei Fagares and Tamas Kolozsvari came after suspicions arose over a Dollar General store’s credit card reader. A hidden device was discovered on it at a store in Harahan.
Later, investigators found three other nearby retail outlets had such devices, which allow crooks to copy a credit or debit card’s data.
Bob Davis, president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau in Shreveport, said the practice of criminals skimming has evolved.
“If you feel any resistance when you’re using your card, don’t use it. Pull it out and cancel the transaction immediately,” Davis said. “Because the new method is using what we call a ‘shim’ which can be inserted in the slot, where you put your card in and that will make impressions of your card, and someone can come along and get copies of your card.”
According to investigators, 50 EBT cards and 19 credit or debit cards were stolen using just one victim store’s device that had been found in the November investigation.
Nationally, card skimming accounts for more than $115 million in fraud losses to victims annually.
