GEORGETOWN, Del. - A skimming device used to steal credit card information was found at El Mercado Market in Georgetown.
Lt. Matthew Barlow, Head of the Criminal Investigations Unit, told CoastTV the police were called on Tuesday, Feb. 18 after the device was found. Barlow says the store owners reviewed their security footage and realized the device was placed on one of their credit card terminals on Saturday, Feb. 15.
Lt. Barlow recalls what he saw on the video.
"They went back three days. It occurred on Saturday evening a little bit after 8 p.m. Two subjects went into the market, they were disguised to a degree," said Barlow.
Two men could be seen in the video. One man with a white hat, a dark colored jacket with a white stripe on the left arm and dark colored pants.
A man police say is a suspect in the El Mercado Market skimming device scam in Georgetown.
The other, with a dark hat with white writing on it, a white hoodie, a green jacket and light colored pants.
A man police say is a suspect in the El Mercado Market skimming device scam in Georgetown.
In their surveillance video, the man in the white hat and dark colored jacket who was being rung up by the cashier can be seen pointing to the gentleman next to him in line, the man with the green jacket and light colored pants.
The cashier stopped checking out the first man and turned to grab something for the second man.
"The two got up to the checkout. The one stood up by where the credit card machine was, which was on the other side of the cash register," Barlow recalled.
"They also utilized the other person to distract, and the cashier turned around and grabbed something off the shelf. While she was doing that, they pulled the device out, placed it on the top of the credit card machine and it fits perfectly on there."
A man police say is a suspect in the El Mercado Market skimming device scam in Georgetown, placing the skimming device on the credit card terminal.
Barlow says the men looked like they were attempting to keep their faces fairly covered.
Barlow brought the device from the evidence locker to show CoastTV. After putting on black gloves, Barlow carefully removed the device from the bag.
"There was some adhesive tape on the device itself. So it stuck on there throughout the time that the cashier was checking all of the times."
Back of skimming device found at El Mercado Market in Georgetown.
"He was kind of constantly pressing it, you know, trying not to draw attention to himself, I'm assuming," Barlow said, describing the actions of the man in the white hat and dark colored jacket.
Front of the skimming device found at El Mercado Market in Georgetown.
The man could then be seen attempting to run a card through the machine. It is unclear if he was using a real card or a fake to check if the skimming device would move out of place.
Lt. Barlow explained how most skimming devices steal your information.
"Older devices that we've seen, there was some sort of device or chip inside of the skimming device and the suspects would come back and grab the entire device later on," he explained.
"With these newer devices the information is being transmitted, whether to cell service or what have you or then they're dumped to another storage device," he continued.
With new technology, the suspects do not have to come back into the store to get the device and the information it collected.
Barlow pressed the numbers on the keypad on the skimming device. While looking at the back of the device at the same time, you can see the small button moving around. Those small buttons under the device help to push the numbers of the stores actual keypad, allowing the device to steal information.
Back of the skimming device found at El Mercado in Georgetown.
It is unclear where these devices are coming from, but Barlow says the person or people committing these crimes usually aren't working alone.
"Most of these fraud situations, they to be linked to larger organizations. Very rarely is it just one person and a computer."
On Thursday, El Mercado Market shared a statement to their Facebook page stating they immediately removed the skimming device and contacted the police as soon as they became aware of it. The statement also says they are looking to enhance safety measures.
El Mercado Market's statement after finding a skimming device in their store in Georgetown.
The Georgetown Police Department shared an informational post on their Facebook about how to safely use your debit or credit card.
The suspects have not been identified at this point. Police say they are going to give the device to their federal partners, who they say are cooperative, for further testing. However, It could take a few weeks for them to pick it up.
Information in Spanish can be found on CoastTV's sister station, Telemundo Delmarva.
This is one type of scam that has been seen around Sussex County.