BY ANDREAS YILMA
citizens news
PROSPECT — The card skimming problem continues to persist as two more businesses in different towns have been impacted.
Two men wearing Hugo Boss apparel and hats bought a few items on June 29 at about 1 p.m. at LaBonne’s Market at 75 Waterbury Road. As the cashier was making change, the men placed a credit card skimmer on register three, according to a LaBonne’s Market news release.
Store workers realized what happened on the following day and contacted Prospect Police.
“Police are seeing this being attempted all over the state,” the release states.
LaBonne’s Market turned over all video and photo evidence to police. The device appears to be the type that needs to be retrieved by the suspects to obtain the data, according to the release.
“There were 125 credit/debit transactions on that register during this time frame. Of those, we had contact info for 67 individuals who we notified directly,” the release states. “So far no customers have reported being compromised but to be safe, you should monitor your statements if you inserted or swiped your card on register 3 in Prospect during this time frame even though the suspects were not able to retrieve the device.”
LaBonne’s Market is offering a $500 cash reward for any information that leads to the suspects’ arrest. People can email info@labonnes.com or call 203-263-1940 ext. 103.
Another similar incident took place in Naugatuck when a suspect placed a card skimmer device on a self checkout register at Walmart, on New Haven Road on July 17 at about 6:30 p.m.
Naugatuck police are attempting to identify the pictured individual from security footage. The suspect was wearing a white-button up shirt, blue shorts, white sneakers, sunglasses and a tan hat, according to a police press release.
If anyone has any information or can recognize the suspect pictured on the police social media page, they should contact Officer Luis at 203-729-5222 or our confidential tip line at 203-720-1010.
Big Y grocery store officials revealed last week that similar incidents took place at their grocery stores in two locations across the state.
Big Y officials discovered on June 29 that an unknown individual attached a skimming device to two payment terminals — one in Naugatuck, at 85 Bridge St., and the other in Plainville at 275 New Britain Ave.
Borough police said if a person thinks that they were a victim, they should contact their bank or credit card company’s fraud department and report it to their local police department.
Skimming occurs when a person illegally installs devices on or inside ATMs, point-of-sale terminals or fuel pumps to capture card data and record cardholders’ PIN entries, according the Federal Bureau of Investigations website.
Criminals use the data to create fake payment cards and then make unauthorized purchases or steal from victims’ accounts. Card skimming is estimated to cost financial institutions and consumers more than $1 billion each year, the FBI website states.
