Second credit card skimmer found on South Lake Tahoe 7-11 POS system

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - A second credit/debit card skimming device has been found on a 7-11 point-of-sale (POS) system in South Lake Tahoe. On Wednesday, a customer at the 7-11 on Emerald Bay Road found the device and pulled it off the machine.

The South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) said they were notified of the device and are currently investigating the situation. The person who noticed the attachment to the POS, Jamie Hicks, called SLTPD last week to say he saw a skimming device on the same machine and thought it had been removed. On Wednesday, March 6, he went back to the store again and was surprised to see a skimming device was attached and called SLTPD again.

Last week a skimmer was found at the 7-11 on Pioneer Trail. SLTPD detectives are watching the surveillance film provided by the store.

There are skimming devices created just for 7-11 POS systems and reports about their being found come from across the country. These devices are found installed on card readers that collect card numbers. They can be transmitted electronically to thieves who can recover the information, or the device itself holds the information and whoever placed it there will have to return to retrieve it, often by Bluetooth from a location nearby. They are often found in ATMs and gas station pumps, but can also be found on retailers' devices.

SLTPD Sgt. Nick Carlquist said if you suspect a skimmer is on a device, contact to store manager as they know their machines the best. The manager will then call the police. Carlquist said the store owners/managers know what is abnormal.

The skimmers are created to look like their authentic counterparts with fake lights and keypads.

Carlquist said they believe the current fake skimmer issues are connected to the 7-11s as that is what the ones found are designed for, and they haven't heard of any other devices recently found.

It is hard to conduct physical forensics on the skimmers as they are full of fingerprints from all users from the time they were placed on the POS. They also work on digital forensics, but details of the current investigation are not being released at this time.

The devices are easy to place on the POS, especially since the thieves know the 7-11 machines. A clerk can be distracted or called to another part of the store when the skimmer is attached.

If you used your debit or credit card at either 7-11 over the last two weeks, watch your cards for fraudulent transactions.

Tips can be left for SLTPD at cybertips@cityofslt.us.