After Walmart in Puyallup found credit-card skimmer, police connected man to 3 more
A law enforcement investigation into who was behind installing devices that steal credit-card data at the Walmart in Puyallup has led prosecutors to charge a 23-year-old man with two felonies.
The devices are called credit-card skimmers, and they’re sometimes placed in businesses at point-of-sale terminals where customers insert or swipe their credit, debit or EBT cards to make a purchase. According to charging documents filed Friday in Pierce County Superior Court, one was found at the Puyallup Walmart’s self checkout Aug. 30, 2023, five days after surveillance footage showed it was installed.
The Puyallup Police Department’s investigation led to a man allegedly tied to placing credit-card skimmers at a Walmart twice in Puyallup and once in Lacey and Lynnwood between Aug. 25 and Sept. 25, 2023.
At least 726 “customer access devices” were used at Walmart registers while a skimmer was installed, according to charging documents.
The man accused of installing them is not in custody, court records show. He is charged with unlawful factoring of transactions and unlawful factoring of transactions - second or subsequent violation. The latter is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a $20,000 fine or both.
Investigators identified the defendant through surveillance video and Department of Licensing records. According to the probable cause document, Walmart contacted law enforcement in September 2023 because individuals they’d previously seen installing credit-card skimmers were observed placing another device in Lynnwood, and they were seen leaving in a Chrysler sedan.
Law enforcement found licensing records showing the vehicle was sold in August 2023, which helped them identify the defendant. The vehicle was later towed from an apartment complex where the defendant was seen, and cell-phone data allegedly placed the defendant’s phone at stores in Puyallup, Lacey and Lynnwood when the credit-card skimmers were installed.
He didn’t work alone. Surveillance video allegedly showed the defendant and two other people installing the devices together while trying to hide what they were doing. The others were sometimes two other males, two other females or a mix.
Credit-card skimmers can be found at fuel pumps, ATMs and other point-of-sale terminals, according to the FBI. Some are installed within the terminal, and others fit over the card reader. In some cases, customers’ PIN numbers are recorded through pinhole cameras or keylogging keypad overlays.
The devices store customer information to be downloaded or wirelessly transferred later. The data is then used to create fake payment cards to make unauthorized purchases or steal from an account.
Credit-card skimmers have been found throughout Washington. According to the FBI, it’s estimated that skimming costs financial institutions and consumers more than $1 billion each year.
To protect yourself, the FBI suggests inspecting ATMs and point-of-sale terminals for anything loose or damaged and lightly pulling at the edges of the keypad before entering a PIN. Tap-to-pay transactions are more secure than inserting or swiping.
