So many of us go about our everyday lives without casting a second thought to the daily routines we’ve established- but, after this woman’s shocking discovery at her local 7-Eleven, it might be worth taking a second look.
A Texas woman made her way to a 7-Eleven to buy some chips and was rudely surprised by what she found after making her way to the payment counter, where she discovered an almost-imperceptibly modified payment machine.
After peeling off the outer layer of the device, the Texas woman discovered a false facade designed to steal customer card payments.
She offered her advice for shoppers to avoid the same pitfalls:
“The way that you can tell is the machine should be flat on the side, there should be no gap”
With scams on the rise ever since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s more important than ever that shoppers know they can trust their retailers. 7-Eleven responded to the case, stating that:
“7-Eleven takes allegations involving card skimmers very seriously. 7-Eleven inspects gas pumps and card readers regularly and cooperates closely with law enforcement regarding related investigations.”
The kind of scam described is called ‘card skimming.’ Card skimming is the practice of affixing a deceptive addition to a payment device and collecting what should’ve been otherwise lawful and consensual payments, and sending them to an illegal third party.
An estimated three more people have fallen victim to that very same card skimming machine, and authorities are urging those who think they might have been affected to come forward.
