Two men face a total of 58 charges for allegedly installing skimmers at five Kroger stores in Lexington. Skimmers are devices installed on card readers that thieves use to collect card numbers for their use or to sell. Heather Clary is the community and media relations coordinator with the Better Business Bureau serving greater Kentucky and southern Indiana.
“The first sign that something is wrong with the machine, you're using the ATM or the gas pump, the card gets stuck in a chip reader, it seems to have a tighter than normal grip on your card, you know, there could be a shim inside there.”
Clary said when that happens, it’s a good idea to cancel the transaction and notify your bank and there are several other ways to avoid being scammed by skimmers.
“A lot of times you can wave a card in front of a certain part of the machine, tap and go is often offered that sometimes can help protect you. Really, you could go inside to a teller if you really want to be careful about it.”
Clary said one of the best ways to protect yourself from financial and identity theft is to frequently check your bank and credit card accounts.
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