KEARNY, NJ – Police in Kearny and the surrounding are have reported an increase in credit card skimming. That’s the act of stealing your credit card information by placing an additional device on ATM or gas station pump to allow thieves to collect the information.
“The Kearny Police Department along with many other area Police Departments have seen an uptick in ATM skimmers,” the department said today. “A card skimmer is a device that steals card information by reading your debit or credit card’s magnetic strip.”
Police said you can protect yourself from this type of fraud by using many available contactless ATM machines. Many ATM machines allow you to simply tap your card or use a card loaded on to your smart phone using Apple, Google, or Samsung Pay.
Another important step you can take is to protect your pin. Hovering one hand over the keypad will prevent any installed cameras associated with the skimmer from being able to see your PIN number.
