Skimming Device Discovered at Glen Cove ATM

A skimming device was discovered on the ATM machine at a 7-Eleven store in Glen Cove after police said a customer used the machine and part of the device came loose on Wednesday, July 15.

Authorities responded to the store, located at 206 Glen Cove Ave., and removed the device.

Police discovered that the skimming device used a small camera over the keypad to log in the key strokes, and a card reader which was placed over the card slot to capture the card information.

The skimmer used a memory card to record the transactions, so the criminal would have to respond back to the ATM to retrieve the credit information, police said.

Glen Cove Lieutenant John Nagle said he is not sure if the criminal has been replacing this skimming device on a regular basis.

Anyone who has used this ATM should check their account balances for anything out of the ordinary.

Glen Cove Police offer ways to protect yourself from identity theft:

• Change your card pin number.
• Sign up for automatic alerts from your bank.
• Use a strong pin number using capital letters, numbers and lowercase letters.
• Whenever using an ATM always cover the pin pad with your other hand when entering your pin number.
• Use ATM’s that are in conspicuous locations and in well-lit areas.
• Many times the ATM’s that are located at your bank branch are safer because bank employees would be more inclined to spot something attached to the machine that’s not supposed to be there.
• If parts of the ATM don’t seem to fit correctly or if part of the ATM (like the card slot) is loose notify someone in charge or call the police.

Image via Glen Cove Police