‘Shimming’ warning issued after devices found at Connecticut stores

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — The Better Business Bureau is putting out a warning to consumers Thursday after recent incidents of card skimming at a number of stores in Connecticut.

Experts are also raising awareness hackers are using to get banking information including card “shimming.”

Kristen Johnson with the Better Business Bureau describes skimming as “what most people have heard of, these are big bulky devices that are placed at ATMs and different payment terminals.”

Johnson said skimming only works with swiping. Shimming, on the other hand, uses the microchip on your credit or debit card.

“They put a tiny little shim,” she said. “We’re talking paper thin, [the] size of a credit card inside the chip reader. It can actually take off everything that is stored in our credit card. It can capture it as soon as we put it into the payment terminal.”

Lately, grocery stores including Big Y in Naugatuck and Plainville, LaBonne’s Market in Prospect, and Walmarts in Cromwell and Stratford, have been the target of skimmers.

Stratford police are still working to determine is this latest incident was a case of shimming or skimming.

It’s left some customers, like Cecilia Ritone, on high alert.

“Creeped out…I just went to the bank, pulled out cash,” she said.

Quinnipiac University cybersecurity expert Fred Scholl said your information can sometimes be transmitted instantly.

“Some of the more sophisticated devices may transmit devices to hackers who might be sitting in a parking lot they might not actually have to walk in…others, less sophisticated may actually need to walk in,” Scholl said.

Scholl provided a number of tips on how consumers can protect themselves from the scam, including:

• Turning on purchase notifications on your phone
• Closely monitor your bank statements
• Pay with cash
• Use contactless payment with a credit card as opposed to a debit card

If you believe you’ve been hacked, you’re advised to contact your local police department.

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