LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Multiple agencies from the local, state and federal level are joining forces to tackle illegal skimming.
Officials from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, Henderson Police Department, Clark County School District, Nevada State Police, and the U.S. Secret Service visited roughly 1,500 businesses throughout Clark County to check for and remove skimming devices.
Watch the full press conference: Law enforcement agencies discuss skimming outreach operation
It's all part of a coordinated effort to battle back against illegal card skimming nationwide.
"There's been an increase in ATM skimming across the nation in the past 18-to-24 months," said Karon Ransom, special agent in charge of the Secret Service's Las Vegas field office.
Authorities say fraudsters often target users of EBT cards and those performing card transactions at ATMs and gas pumps.
Some illegal devices can even capture keypad entries on point-of-sale card readers, sometimes by employing a tiny camera barely visible to the naked eye.
"These suspects are pretty sly in doing these things," said LVMPD's Nicholas Farese.
See the results from our recent credit card fraud investigation in #Vegas! A big thanks to our partners in the @LVMPD, @NVStatePolice, @ClarkCountySch PD & @HendersonNVPD for checking local businesses with us.
— U.S. Secret Service (@SecretService) April 26, 2024
Find out more at https://t.co/7A4u0aEApl#SecretServiceInvestigates pic.twitter.com/buh3YVhADH
Driver Angelica Pacheco says for safety reasons, she only uses her card at a gas pump terminal if she absolutely has to and even then...
"I touch the reader and if you can feel it like wiggling or moving or it looks kind of fake or off, I do know that it's fake when you do that."
A recent string of arrests in California led law enforcement officials to believe criminal organizations from Eastern Europe have targeted that state as well as southern Nevada.
However, there are steps you can take to protect yourself against the card-creeping criminals.
"If you are using your debit card at a gas station, we encourage you to run it as a credit card instead of entering your PIN. That way your PIN is safe and your funds are not automatically deducted from your account."
Authorities say it's also a good idea to cover the keypad with your free hand while punching in the a pin, even if other people aren't around.
LVMPD says if you see something that seems out of place during a transaction, report it to law enforcement.
