ACADIANA, La. (KLFY) – Credit card skimmers were found on Super 1 Foods' registers in Crowley and Opelousas.
Brookshire, the grocery store chain owner, launched an internal investigation after removing the skimmer devices that were on credit card readers in Acadiana between April and May.
The devices were potentially on registers from April 11 to May 3, at the Crowley location and between April 30 to May 3, at the Opelousas location. "This is not one of those farfetched ideas that people think would never happen to them," Better Business Bureau President and CEO Chris Babin said. "We've seen quite a few devices around the Acadian area."
Brookshire found that the devices were capable of stealing personal information from transactions where cards were swiped, not tapped or card read. However, they were unable to determine if any personal information was compromised.
Babin said that this is probably because the store found the skimmers before the suspect could retrieve personal information. "If it's a device that has to be retrieved by the culprit or the suspect that left it because the information's only being stored internally on the local device, then there's a good chance nobody's information was compromised since that one was located," Babin said. "The problem is when the devices aren't found, and it is at some point retrieved by the person that left it there. A lot of times it stores all of that information from the cards that were used."
Brookshire's Communications Manager Morgan Jones said they launched an investigation as soon as they were alerted of the skimmers. "Brookshire Grocery Company recently learned of an unauthorized credit card skimmer at the Crowley, Opelousas and Pineville locations. We were alerted of the suspicious activity and immediately contacted the law enforcement to remove the unauthorized device and launched an investigation. We will continue working with the local and federal authorities on their investigation and will take all appropriate action in response to the findings. Protecting the personal information of our customers remains a top priority. We strive to provide superior services for our community and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience or concern caused by this incident."
Jimmy Powers said this incident makes him worried for the elderly in his church who live paycheck to paycheck. "I kind of really feel concerned for our elderly people and how they survive every day, so every little thing counts, all the little cheating," Powers said. "Somebody gets some free soda or chips, or somebody cheats and gets to steal something from a store, cheats on the prices, and everybody's affected. It's like a ripple that goes all the way down."
Customers can spot a skimmer device by looking for a loose card reader, the appearance of a broken card reader and a card getting stuck in the reader. Babin said businesses should make sure their registers are always monitored to prevent scammers from adding skimmers to their registers.
Babin also said those affected by these types of scams should notify the authorities and the business, then monitor their bank statements. "A lot of people have gotten away from looking at their monthly statements because everything's electronic now," Babin said. "Trying to make it a habit to do that monthly and making sure that every charge you see on there, you did authorize."
Brookshire is working with local and federal authorities and will take action in response to any findings.
