The U.S. Secret Service reported the results of a two-day outreach operation targeting illegal payment card skimming and Electronic Benefit Transfer fraud last week—the results should have you at least on the alert when using a credit card or e-wallet at a pay terminal, especially during the holidays.
Osceola was part of a three-county sweep of 853 businesses, where more than 7,340 point-of-sale terminals, gas pumps and ATMs were inspected. According to the Secret Service release, 16 illegal skimming devices were found.
Personnel from the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office were part of the multi-agency operation.
“EBT fraud is an epidemic around the country. It’s so devastating to families that are victimized. With these skimmer operations, we’re able to connect different individuals to these crimes and we’ve been very successful,” said Special Agent in Charge Caroline O’Brien-Buster of the U.S. Secret Service. “These nefarious actors are very organized and they’re very good at what they do, but so are we.”
Criminals can steal payment card numbers by installing illegal skimming devices on ATMs, gas pumps and merchant point-of-sale terminals. The technology captures card information from credit cards and encode that data onto another card with a magnetic strip. It is estimated that skimming costs financial institutions and consumers more than $1 billion each year.
“The bad guys that we are targeting, mostly transnational organized crime groups, they travel the United States, and they know what they’re doing, and they know that we are on to them,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Michael Peck, of the Secret Service Criminal Investigative Division.
As tourist areas like much of Osceola County are popular targets for skimmy scammers, here’s some ways experts say you can protect yourself from being a victim:
Inspect ATMs, point-of-sale terminals and other card readers. Look for anything loose, crooked, damaged, or scratched, or a mismatched color from its base. (A skimmer will come off with a solid ‘tug’ on the card reader.) Do not use a card reader if anything appears unusual.
Whenever possible, use tap-to-pay technology, or debit and credit cards with chip technology.
At gas pumps, run debit cards as a credit card to avoid entering a PIN number. If that is not an option, consumers should use their hand to hide their PIN to block scammers who may be using tiny pinhole cameras above the keypad area to record entries. Use ATMs in a well-lit, indoor location, which are less vulnerable targets.
Kissimmee man among nine indicted on federal drug and firearms charges
Christian Roux-Rey, 31, was part of a Department of Justice Middle District of Florida indictment charging nine defendants with a drug trafficking conspiracy, distribution of fentanyl, methamphetamine, bromazolam, and firearms offenses.
Roux-Rey has been charged with federal drug trafficking conspiracy, distribution of fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. He could face from 15 years to life in federal prison if convicted.
According to the 27-count indictment, between approximately August 2022 and May 2024 the nine suspects who spanned from Orlando to Clermont to Deltona conspired to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, controlled substances, including fentanyl and methamphetamine. An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
