More credit card skimmers are cropping up inside stores in the Commonwealth. The latest community to be hit by these scamming devices is Chelsea, Massachusetts.
Chelsea police are advising shoppers to visibly check any electronic device that requires the use of a bank card — before inserting your card — especially at grocery stores like Market Basket.
However, this does not just apply to those living in the Bay State. But when it comes to this case in Chelsea, police said Tuesday that they found a skimming device at the Market Basket registers.
"It scares the heck out of me to think that someone is going to have access to my bank account," said Arnold Casavant, a Market Basket shopper.
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This is not the first time these skimmers have been found at a Market Basket.
In the last month, at least six separate Market Baskets in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire have been the center of police investigations after the electronic devices were found at the checkout lines.
In Chelsea, the skimmer device was only up for six minutes, police said. They said there was a group of people involved — one distracted an employee while another placed the device on the register.
"Cash is happening today, no credit card until this calms down," said Casavant.
At this time no customers have reported that private information was stolen.
However, in a statement sent to NBC10 Boston, a spokesperson for Market Basket wrote in part, "Market Basket has strong internal management systems in place and that they are being aggressive in conducting multiple security checks daily to protect against credit card skimming devices."
It's unclear at this time if the recent uptick in skimming devices are connected.
In the meantime, police are giving tips on how to avoid being skimmed or scammed. Those tips include doing a quick scan before using any machine, being wary of non-bank ATMs, checking the keypad and blocking your PIN. If you are unsure, ask for management help at the store.
