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Credit card skimmers found at three Save a Lot stores in Detroit, police say

Credit card skimmers found at three Save a Lot stores in Detroit
Credit card skimmers found at three Save a Lot stores in Detroit 02:09

(CBS DETROIT) — The Detroit Police Department is asking for help from the community in identifying two suspects who were recorded installing credit card skimmers at three Save a Lot locations.

Police claim the suspects installed devices on credit card terminals in an attempt to steal customers' financial information.

The owner of these Save a Lot stores says he chased two suspects off his property when they tried to install a card skimmer for the third time so something like what once happened to the Wayne County Sheriff's Department's technology director doesn't happen to anyone else, especially at his stores.

They're very easy to miss if you don't see the signs.

Stephen Yatooma not only knows about them through his role as technology director with the Wayne County Sheriff's Office but also through an experience five years ago.

"Looking back, the card reader had something bulky in it, and the colors were off. I didn't realize it until about three days later when I looked at my transactions what was going on," he said.

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Detroit Police Department

Those are some of the signs Yatooma says he wished he would have paid closer attention to. Now he's passing along that knowledge so others know what to look for before it's too late.

"Bulkiness, you want to look for colors that are off too. Another thing to do when you're at a point of sale terminal, if you think it looks off, it looks bulky and it wiggles, look at some of the other ones," Yatooma said.

Since these devices steal your information when you swipe a card, customers can avoid these concerns completely by using contactless payment or cash.

"Cash is always king. I like using cash wherever I can because that is by far the most secure method. And then you get to contactless, which are also very secure, or even mobile payments if you're using like an Apple Pay," said cybersecurity expert David Derigiotis.

Yatooma says he believes these suspects targeted the Save-A-Lot stores, assuming people are more likely to use swipe-only payments like EBT.

"EBT cards currently in the State of Michigan do not have chip readers on them, so it makes them a perfect target for something like this because you can get that data and use it right away," he said.

If you recognize these suspects, you're asked to call DPD's 8th precinct at 313-596-5840 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-SpeakUp. 

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