Aurora advises shoppers to be vigilant about credit card skimming devices
Aurora police are urging the public to remain vigilant amid an uptick in credit card skimming devices in the area.
"It doesn't take anything to hold these in place other than the two-sided tape that we see here, and the same thing to pull it off," said Aurora Police Detective Scott Burgess.
Burgess showed CBS News Colorado an example of a credit card skimming device on Friday. It is the same device that was used in a recent attempt to take credit card information from Walmart shoppers.
"We've seen three or four of these devices here within a month, and that's actually a bit more than normal," said Burgess.
Burgess says a couple installed the device in the self-checkout lane of the Walmart off Exposition Avenue. Surveillance video caught the entire incident.
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"These devices are easily concealed, whether it is under a jacket or in this case, this lady's purse," said Burgess. "The couple walks up, they have a cart full of groceries or items they start running through their checkout, and in this particular case she uses a blanket or towel to cover the point-of-sale terminal. Her cohort slips it up and installs it on top of a terminal device."
Similar devices, police say, were installed at a King Soopers location and at a Thornton Walmart between June 26 and July 1.
"But it's completely different sets of people. One is two guys. The other one is a couple of girls and a couple of guys and they come in at point of sale at the self-checkout stations and it's the same sort of thing," said Burgess.
The devices are intended to mimic a regular credit card terminal but store information as soon as someone swipes or types in their card info.
"When it's on, many people would not recognize this from anything else. Any other devices that they're looking at," said Burgess.
Police say it is crucial shoppers look closely before they swipe the next time they shop.
"Any time you pull up to a point-of-sale terminal or an ATM machine, always sit there right up underneath the edge of something like this and give it a little tug and it usually will come off that easy," said Burgess.
Another way to avoid being a victim of a skimming device is by using your smartphone or other contactless payment options to purchase items. Skimming devices cannot pick up your information that way.
Right now, Aurora police are still searching for the couple in that surveillance video and are urging the public to contact Metro Denver Crime Stoppers online or at 720-913-STOP(7867).