A credit card skimmer found at a D.C. grocery store Wednesday night is just one of five skimmers found around the city recently, and the Metropolitan Police Department has released surveillance images of two men they believe may be responsible.
John Perry-Miller came across a skimmer at self-checkout in the Safeway on Wisconsin Avenue NW in Georgetown.
“I notice at the little thing I’m at, the keypad was sparkling, like brand new,” he said.
“So, I yanked on it, and it was loose,” he said. “And so, I called over the attendant and he was like, ‘No it’s not a skimmer,’ and I said, ‘It’s a skimmer!’ And so, we yanked it off together all the way, and he was like, ‘Oh my God.’”
On Friday, police said four other skimmers have been discovered.
The first was found March 25 by an employee at a Harris Teeter on First Street NE in NoMa.
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A week later, on April 1, police got a call from an employee at another Harris Teeter on M Street SE in Navy Yard.
Less than an hour after police received the report of the skimmer found in Georgetown Wednesday, another was reported found in the 4500 block of 40th Street NW.
Then Friday morning, another was discovered at Safeway on Corcoran Street NW near Dupont Circle.
How to identify card skimmers
While police try to track down the thieves here’s what to do to protect against being skimmed:
- Make sure the device doesn’t move.
- Compare the machine to the one next to it.
- Check the alignment of the card reader.
- Look inside of the card reader before using it.
Anyone who finds a skimmer or suspected one should call 911.
Anyone who may be a victim should notify their bank or credit card company immediately.
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