Garden Grove Police find credit card skimmer indistinguishable from real thing

Over the weekend, Garden Grove Police found a credit card skimmer at a gas station near Euclid and Trask Avenue that looked identical to the authentic reader.

KNX News' Emily Valdez spoke with Police Sergeant Willie Holloway, who said, "This is a well-made skimmer that was made to fit over the actual credit card reader and pin pad located on the fuel pump. It fit over just like a second skin, kind of like a cover."

The skimmer even included a sticker telling patrons they would incur a surcharge for using an ATM card - a level of detail the sergeant said was notable.

Sergeant Holloway says skimmers are everywhere and are often found on grocery store keypads: "They're very easy to install, and they're very easy to collect."

He said to be safe, avoid using a debit card so the fraudulent units don't take money directly out of your account or use the tap method, as thieves haven't figured out how to skim off the tap technology...yet.

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