We bank with Bank of America. Yesterday I noticed a strange 315 number on my missed call log on the cell. The same number called again this morning, and this time I answered it. It was a Bank of America rep. who called to tell me that there was fraudulent activity with Charlie's debit card as a result of a skimmer. My thoughts "skimmer, what?" So apparently someone made a counterfeit version of Charlie's debit card and took it for a ride at Wal-Mart in Seneca, SC for the amount of $105.64. The perpetrator tried to use it 5 times for this transaction. It finally took once and I noticed, through my daily inspection of transactions, that a strange pending transaction was present on our detail, and added a Bank of America call to my to-do list for the day. Apparently, skimmers are attached to gas pumps (think pay-at-the-pump) and ATM machines, etc. and they steal/read the magnetic information from your card, including your PIN number. Scary, right? So the lady tells me that I can google "skimmers" and it will provide knowledge of what to look for at ATM machines, etc. If you spot one, walk away casually and call the police as this is about the only way to catch these perpetrators in action. Below is a way google tells you to spot these skimmers.
I can't fight the urge that if I found a skimmer on an ATM machine, that I wouldn't try to rip it off myself, stomp it into pieces, and do a victory dance over the dead skimmer. Get a life criminals, everyone is given an opportunity to be legally successful, you should try it sometime.
how crazy is it that i used to live in walhalla, sc which is 2 seconds away from seneca, sc...and i have family there! but i promise we do not use skimmers (or even know what they are for that matter!).
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