The inner workings of the skimming device, which can sometimes be hard to detect on the
outside of the pump
GOSHEN – One week after Orange County Consumer Affairs staffers were given a course on credit card skimming, an alert inspector found such a gadget in a gas station credit card device at a Shell station on Route 52 in the Town of Newburgh.
The inspector, John Hankins, notified Town of Newburgh Police and county officials after his discovery on Monday morning and the investigation began.
People should be aware of situations like this all the time as technology advances, said District Attorney Chief Investigator Will Garcia.
“It speaks to people being aware of their surroundings; what’s going on,” Garcia said. “A lot of times they put little pinhole cameras up and it gets your PIN number, it collects your data and the next thing you know, these criminals have nothing else to do but go to the bank and take out all your money or charge something on it.”.
County Executive Steven Neuhaus said if you are using a debit card, put
your hand over the keypad as you punch in the PIN number to protect it
from potential theft.
County Consumer Affairs Commissioner Charles Mitchell said credit card
skimming is a nationwdie problem and consumers should be vigilant about
their use of credit and debit cards.
