Skimming scam spreads from Calgary
Calgary Herald
Published: Tuesday, November 11, 2008

The same debit card skimming scam discovered in Calgary two months ago has turned up in Airdrie and Red Deer, and police fear other areas have been targeted, too.

Police say they have video footage of a thief stealing a debit card pin pad just before an Airdrie retailer closed for the night on Sept. 11. After compromising the pad with wireless transmitter technology overnight, it was slipped back in the morning.

The pad functions normally but transmits all data to the criminal, police say.

Police say they suspect two other businesses have been targeted.

One pin pad was found after becoming inoperative and returned for service. The other was discovered only after more than 120 debit cards were cloned and used to extract money from the victims' accounts.

A compromised pin pad results in an average of $100,000 in loss, police say.

"It is believed that there is a possibility that additional retailers in southern Alberta have had their debit card pin pads compromised as well and are just not aware of this attack as yet," said RCMP spokesman Sgt. Patrick Webb.

© The Calgary Herald 2008