Equipment compromises credit, debit cards
By Erik Buchinger
Skimming devices were discovered and confiscated from an ATM at the First State Bank in Clintonville.
Skimmers use equipment to get a hold of people’s personal information, according to Clintonville Police Chief Jim Beggs.
“They steal personal information off the financial card whether it be a credit card or debit card,” Beggs said. “Then as soon as they can, they attack that person’s account either by making purchases or cash withdrawals or however until that person discovers it and stops the account. They move quickly because it does not take that long.”
According to an email sent from First State Bank, the skimming device looked identical to the card slot found normally on the ATM and similar to other skimming devices found in Shawano over the same time period.
Beggs said there are no suspects.
“We don’t have a suspect at this time for that,” Clintonville Police Chief Jim Beggs said. “We did notify everybody else – all the financial institutions around to take extra caution. We also did notify service stations and things of that nature.”
Beggs said people have been extra cautious recently, as this has been an ongoing issue in the state.
“Everybody that I’ve talked to seems to be on alert looking for that kind of thing to stay a step ahead, but they’re pretty persistent individuals,” Beggs said.
First State bank and Beggs both said they do not believe any personal information was compromised, but the bank notified the affected cardholders and were reissued a new card.
“Most people right now are getting pretty vigilant because of all the media coverage this is getting,” Beggs said. “People are going online and checking their accounts and looking for what doesn’t look right.”