There’s a credit/debit card scam going on across the country that is seeing an uptick in Lubbock. Thieves are stealing credit card information from unknowing victims.
“It’s unnerving,” said Lubbock man Kenneth Bond, who fell victim to the credit card fraud.
When Bond’s credit card company informed him of a suspicious purchase he immediately checked to see if his card was stolen.
“What happened to our card? Where was it at? This card belonged to my foremen and I called him and he told ‘I have the card, it’s in my possession.’ So we thought how did this happen?” said Bond.
Without leaving Bond’s sight his card was scammed. Lubbock Police said thieves are placing skimmers, a devices that will read credit and debit card information and stealing victim’s personal card details.
“They can steal your information and the card is in our hands,” said Bond.
The thief charged Bond’s credit card more than $600. A police report shows that some of those purchases were made at a Lubbock United Supermarket.
And Bond’s not the only one. Lubbock Police confirm that more than eight skimming scams have taken place in Lubbock just this year.
“Why sure they have machines to make a new credit card and I thought I never thought of that,” said Bond. “It never crossed my mind.”
Bond said since the hacking, his credit card company canceled his card and has replaced all of his credit cards with micro-chips embedded in them. The micro-chip credit cards created for a more secure financial transaction.
“The criminal mind spends a lot of time working on these things I’m just going to be aware of my cards and be aware of where I use the card and at that particular machine,” said Bond.
More than half of these credit card scams seen in Lubbock were reported at several Walgreens and convenience stores. LPD offers in order to avoid getting scammed to check for obvious signs of tampering. They suggest wiggling the machine a little bit to check for loose parts, and most of all to be vigilant. Customers can also compare the scanner to one at the next register.
As of now LPD has not made any arrests in the person(s) responsible for stealing Bond’s card information.