SEATTLE — The Secret Service completed a two-day operation in Seattle on Wednesday aimed at finding and removing illegal card skimmers.
KIRO 7 rode along for part of the investigation.
The Secret Service said it found no skimmers but still considered the operation a success. They visited more than 200 businesses and checked more than 100 ATMs, 300 gas pumps, and 400 points of sale.
Over and over again, KIRO 7 watched investigators roll into a local store, flash their badges and check all the card readers for skimmers. Afterward, they taught managers how to check for skimmers themselves.
The devices can be installed in seconds, often while a store employee is looking the other way.
Investigators said their main focus is on criminals using the skimmers to take advantage of the EBT system.
“We have a number of transnational organized crime groups that come here specifically to target vulnerable populations and government benefit recipients,” said Michael Peck, Assistant Special Agent in Charge. “And the tech they are using is pretty spot on.”
The scheme is complicated. Criminals must either sell the remaining balance of the card they skimmed or use it to buy and then sell food.
“So they will purchase large quantities of food products; what we see frequently are pallets of Red Bull,” said Vincent Porter, a Secret Service financial analyst. “So what they do is purchase large quantities of stuff, cooking oil and stuff like that, turn around and sell it to other stores and bodegas to get the cash.”
Why EBT instead of debit or credit cards? According to the Secret Service, it is lucrative, and the scheme is more difficult to track without a bank or credit card company involved.
“Your bank sends you a message and says, ‘Is this fraud? Because you don’t usually do this type of activity.’” Porter said. “The EBT does not have a financial institution backing it, knowing what kind of activity you have and how it is being used.”
The Secret Service reports it has conducted 70 such operations around the country and confiscated 700 skimmers.