U.S. Secret Service, Partners Holds Two-day EBT Fraud and Card Skimming Operation in Illinois, Indiana

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Secret Service and state and local law enforcement partners completed a two-day payment card skimming and Electronic Benefit Transfer fraud outreach operation in Chicago and the surrounding areas, saving residents an estimated $1.8 million in prevented losses.

Personnel from the U.S. Secret Service, Chicago Police Department, Oak Brook Police Department, Valparaiso (Indiana) Police Department, Hobart (Indiana) Police Department and the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Office of Inspector General visited 201 businesses in the Chicago metropolitan area to check for and remove illegal skimming devices from ATMs, gas pumps and point-of-sale terminals.

Six skimming devices were recovered during the operation. In total, 943 point-of-sale terminals, 416 gas pumps and 122 ATMs were inspected. The skimmers were all found in Cook County during the operation, which was conducted Oct. 1 and Oct. 2.

Teams also passed out educational materials about EBT fraud and card skimming to advise, educate and support local businesses and help them better identify the warning signs of illegal skimming devices in their point-of-sale terminals, gas pumps and ATMs.

"Illegal skimming devices and EBT fraud in the Chicago area are an ongoing epidemic that hurt everyday consumers both locally and across the United States," Dai Tran, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service's Chicago Field Office, said. "I'm proud that the Secret Service and its partners are investing time and energy to identify and remove illegal skimming devices as well as helping to educate businesses on methods to protect their customers."

In addition to local public and private partners, the outreach operation conducted in Illinois and Northwest Indiana included help from personnel in multiple U.S. Secret Service field offices.

"Thank you to the U.S. Secret Service for the shared investment in stopping scammers. A key part of this is prevention and education, and we appreciate the partnership in addressing this problem head-on," Dulce M. Quintero, Illinois Department of Human Services Secretary Designate, said.

EBT information and other payment card numbers are stolen when criminals install an illegal skimming device to the point-of-sale terminal to capture card information. They then encode the stolen data onto another card with a magnetic strip, such as a gift card or hotel key. It is estimated that skimming costs consumers and financial institutions more than $1 billion each year.

Law enforcement agencies have seen a nationwide increase in skimming over the past 18 months, particularly targeting EBT cards. EBT fraud targets the nation's most vulnerable communities. Each month, money is deposited into government assistance accounts intended to help families pay for food and other basic items. This enables criminals who steal card information to time their fraudulent withdrawals and purchases around the state government's monthly deposits.

There are several precautions consumers can take to protect themselves:

• Inspect ATMs, point-of-sale terminals, and other card readers before using. Look for anything loose, crooked, damaged, or scratched. Don't use a card reader if you notice anything unusual.
• If you use a debit card at a gas station, run it as a credit card instead of entering a PIN. That way, the PIN is safe, and the money isn't deducted immediately from your account. If that's not an option, cover they keypad with your hand when entering your PIN. Scammers sometimes use tiny pinhole cameras, situated above the keypad area, to record PIN entries. Use ATMs in a well-lit, indoor location, which are less vulnerable targets.
• Be alert for skimming devices in tourist areas, which are popular targets.
• Utilize debit and credit cards with chip technology. In the U.S., there are fewer devices that steal chip data versus magnetic strip data.

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