Couple finds card skimmer at Utah grocery store
By Darienne DeBrule
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KEARNS, Utah (KSTU) — Everyone loves a good deal — that’s why Grabiela Juarez and Jonathan Calderon say Rancho Markets is one of their favorite places to shop. The couple said they go to the Kearns location once a week, but during their visit Friday, Jonathan found a card skimming device on one of the store’s payment systems.
“When I walked over to pay, I saw the keypad didn’t look right, looked like it was sitting off, so I gave it a good tug and next thing I know it’s in my hands,” Jonathan said. “I’m glad I didn’t put in my pin; I’m glad I didn’t swipe my card, but I also felt bad for all the people that went ahead of me before I got there.”
The couple said they filed a police report and then posted pictures of what they believed to be the device on Facebook, warning others about their discovery.
“It affect us, it affects everybody else; we work so hard for our money and we would hate for that to just be taken away,” Grabiela said.
Rancho Markets said they’ve never had something like this occur at their grocery stores. Sola Malaga, Rancho Markets’ asset protection agent, said they have video surveillance of the individuals whom they believe placed the skimming device, and they are working with police to bring them to justice. In the meantime, they’re also doing what they can to protect customers.
“The method we’ve put in place is checking every keypad in our stores and working with our POS [point of sale] system and the company, our support company, to make sure security measures are put in place,” Malaga said.
Grabiela and Jonathan haven’t seen fraud on their card yet, but say this is a good reminder for everyone to be vigilant when using any point-of-sale system.
“Every time I walk up to the register, I always have to inspect the device because nowadays you can’t tell,” Jonathan said. “They’re getting so good at copying the faces, honestly. You just have to be aware.”
The FBI says to avoid card skimming, you should inspect point-of-sale systems before using them and look for anything loose, cracked, damaged, or scratched.
Rancho Markets is asking anyone with information about the alleged skimming that occurred at the Kearns location to contact the Unified Police Department.
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