GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Green Bay Police says it is addressing a new problem being posed by thieves.
The Fox Community Credit Union on Main Street recently reported a card shimmer having been placed inside the ATM attached to the bank’s exterior.
“Usually it’s the skimming devices that we have reported in the past where people will gain access into the internal components of a gas station pump and be able to retrieve the data. This shimming device is looking to defeat the chip in people’s debit and credit cards, which is relatively new.”
Police Captain Kevin Warych says shimmers are placed inside the machine while skimmers are placed outside of the machine.
Warych says this is the first time a shimmer has been reported in Green Bay.
“It just appears that the criminals are going to new heights to get people’s credit card information. This is kind of the evolution of this fraud.”
Warych offers ways that residents can try to protect themselves against card shimmers.
“Cover your hand as your other hand enters the PIN number, monitor your credit card transactions daily, take an extra minute and walk inside a building, where the ATM is inside versus outside.”
In this shimming incident, he notes another sign was reported.
“What we learned was: people were sliding their ATM cards in and using the pinpad to gain access or get money, and the card was not going in smoothly or coming out smoothly.”
Warych says it appears that the shimming device, like many skimming devices in the past, was placed at night, when there was less likely to be witnesses.
