Giant Eagle announced Wednesday that skimmer devices that could read customers’ credit and debit cards were found and removed at five of the grocer’s Ohio stores.
Tribune News Service
BROOKLYN, Ohio — Giant Eagle announced Wednesday that skimmer devices that could read customers’ credit and debit cards were found and removed at five of the grocer’s Ohio stores.
The company said in a news release Wednesday that the skimmers may have captured information for a small number of customers who swiped a payment card on the PIN pads. But because most customers have chips in their cards, which are inserted and not swiped, the vast majority of customers should not be affected.
Giant Eagle says the first device was found at a store in the Columbus area, which prompted them to check all of the chain’s supermarkets. It says all tampered PIN pads were “secured” on Nov. 3.
Skimmers are devices that are installed on PIN pads and card readers to illegally gather people’s card numbers so that they can be used for fraudulent purchases.
Giant Eagle said all potentially affected banks and credit card providers have been notified.
The skimmer devices were found at the follow stores:
• The Giant Eagle at 6300 Biddulph Road in Brooklyn
• The Giant Eagle at 1825 Snow Road in Parma
• The Giant Eagle at 4401 Mayfield Road, South Euclid
• The Giant Eagle 2801 N. High Street, Columbus
• The Market District at 4000 West Powell Road in Powell, outside of Columbus
Giant Eagle said customers who have visited these stores and used the magnetic swipe stripe on their payment cards should monitor their account statement closely for signs of fraud.
