A D.C. man posted a warning on social media that included a photo of a self-checkout keypad at the Georgetown Safeway and a convincing duplicate. News4’s Joseph Olmo reports.
John Perry-Miller was shopping at a Safeway in D.C. Wednesday night when he noticed the credit card keypad at a self-checkout kiosk was "sparkling, like brand new."
“So, I yanked on it, and it was loose. And so, I called over the attendant and he was like, ‘No it’s not a skimmer’ and I said, ‘It’s a skimmer!’" Perry-Miller said. "And so, we yanked it off together all the way and he was like ‘Oh my God…’ and I said ‘see! It’s a skimmer.’”
Perry-Miller, who shops at the Georgetown store three times a week, posted a photo of the shocking moment on X. It then took off.
“@Safeway I just pulled a skimmer off my self-checkout machine at the Georgetown Safeway on Wisconsin Ave NW in DC. The store just underwent a massive renovation to overhaul their security.,” @JohnPerryMiller wrote on X.
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Perry-Miller said he was tipped off by the keypad's buttons that looked different from the last time he visited the store. In the photo the left keypad looks super clean, while the right keypad is a bit worn down.
“Exactly! And you can see with the picture. I mean, look at the buttons underneath it,” Perry-Miller said.
“The real buttons?” News4 asked.
“There’s a night and day difference,” he said.
News4 contacted Safeway, but the company did not confirm if Perry-Miller had stumbled on to a credit card skimmer device.
“Safeway takes these issues seriously and is investigating this matter, in coordination with law enforcement, to ensure appropriate action has been taken. In addition, we have implemented additional controls and associate training to help prevent this type of activity in the future,” Safeway said in a statement.
Skimmers can steal info like card numbers, pins and security codes. In March, a D.C. woman who noticed her EBT card had been drained said her card had been skimmed. The last place she had used the card was a Giant grocery store in Northeast D.C.'s Brentwood neighborhood.
As for Perry-Miller, he's thankful his warning about skimming reached lots of people.
“I’m glad that I can make sure people are aware of this because I do think that it’s important that people are checking," he said.
Next time you check out, take an extra second to check the credit card reader before swiping or inserting your card. The FBI recommends looking for anything loose, broken or crooked. Cash, Apple or Google Pay are also safe alternatives.
“After this experience, I’ll probably be using cash!” he said.
