Mississippi law enforcement operation targets card skimmer fraud

Mississippi law enforcement operation. Mississippi law enforcement operation targets card skimmer fraud.

Key points

• Over the course of Operation Stronghold, the team visited 421 stores and inspected 2, 150 terminals.
• Involving the USDA OIG supported Operation Stronghold protect recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
• Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell remarked he was glad his agency was able to assist with the operation.
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• "SNAP fraud is a reprehensible crime that squanders the goodness and compassion of American Taxpayers, " John Walk, Inspector General for the USDA, remarked.

Skimmers are black market devices criminals employ to steal capital from unwitting victims, typically placed on top of legal point of sale terminals applied to collect and process debit, credit and SNAP transactions.

In practice, a multiagency effort conducted as part of Operation Stronghold is working to support retailers and customers fight debit, SNAP and credit card fraud by locating and removing point of sale card skimmers from retailers in the state of Mississippi.

Notably, the operation included more than 30 state, federal and local law enforcement agencies, including the Mississippi Attorney General's Office, Mississippi Department of Public Safety, Mississippi Department of Human Services, and the USDA Office of Inspector General.

As part of the effort, teams went into retailers to see if they could locate skimmers, training retailers on how to identify the skimmers themselves and who to report the presence of them to if discovered.

"It's important because fraudsters can easily slip these skimmers on these card reading terminals in stores and they in turn collect data, information, from it, and then they steal millions of dollars before anyone even notices, " remarked Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch (R). "In fact, a single recovery of a skimmer represents an estimated $1 million in potential fraud."

To place the skimmers in businesses, criminals may employ an accomplice to cause a distraction or some other method like sleight of hand while at the terminal.

Over the course of Operation Stronghold, the team visited 421 stores and inspected 2, 150 terminals. Three skimmers were discovered and removed.

This is not the first time the Mississippi Attorney General's Office has put forth efforts to remove skimmers. A similar operation conducted last fall, referred to as Scammer and Fraud Enforcement (SAFE), involved visits to 900 businesses and the inspection of almost 6, 000 terminals. In that operation, 53 terminals were discovered and seized.

"SNAP fraud is a reprehensible crime that squanders the goodness and compassion of American Taxpayers, " John Walk, Inspector General for the USDA, remarked. "Criminals place these devices into payment card readers at stores, so they can clone the SNAP card and steal the benefit that they will then monetize."

Meanwhile, the investigation discovered that those responsible for the placement of the skimmers are typically connected to international gangs to fund international crime, Walk went on.

"And unfortunately, we know that most of those crimes happen on this side of the border, " Walk remarked.

It was additionally determined that through the three terminals identified with skimmers this year, regarding 3, 000 victims were affected.

"So, even a single skimming device deceitfully installed can result in a tremendous number of victims, " Walk. "The result, food assistance stripped from American families and siphoned to criminals."

"It really is impressive to me that in a meeting in DC you can sit at a table, identify a problem and then put things in place to lead an effort to come back in Mississippi help deter fraud, " Tindell remarked. "And I think it shows what happens when we have collaboration amongst our federal state and local law enforcement agencies throughout the state." Authorities provided tips for consumers to avoid skimmer fraud.

"Shake it and see if the skimmer moves, it might fall off, " Fitch remarked. "It's perfectly acceptable to make sure you've got a point of sale terminal that is solid and does not have a scammer device on it."

Other suggestions included using tap to pay when available and avoid putting in the four digit passcode when making purchases so criminals do not obtain full access to an account. Regarding the Author(s).

Jeremy Pittari is a lifelong resident of the Gulf Coast. Born and raised in Slidell, La., he moved to South Mississippi in the early 90s. Jeremy earned an associate in arts from Pearl River Community College and went on to attend the University of Southern Mississippi, where he earned a bachelor's of arts in journalism. A week after Hurricane Katrina, he began an internship as a reporter with the community newspaper in Pearl River County. After graduation, he accepted a full-time position at that news outlet where he covered the recovery process post Katrina in Pearl River and Hancock Counties. For almost 17 years he wrote concerning local administration, education, law enforcement, crime, business and a variety of other topics. Email Jeremy: [email protected].

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