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Protect yourself from card skimming

New Westminster – The New Westminster Police Department has received reports of credit card skimmers being placed on public parking pay stations in the east side of New Westminster. These include the new City of New Westminster parking pay stations on East Columbia Street. Fraudulent card reader plates were placed over top of the legitimate ones making it very difficult for the public to notice.

“As you can see from the attached photo, the card skimmers were very similar to the standard card reader found on the pay station units. It would be difficult for a person to notice the difference between a tamper-free pay station and one that had a card skimmer attached,” said Sergeant Diana McDaniel.

The NWPD offer the following advice to help the public protect themselves and to prevent their credit card information from being stolen:

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Cover your keypad. Always use your hand and body to cover your keypad when operating a handheld pin pad or a payment processing machine like an ATM — even when alone. This will prevent shoulder surfers and pinhole cameras from observing your PIN number.

Watch your card. If you must hand your debit or credit card to an employee, don’t take your eyes off of it. It only takes a second for your card to be swiped while you look the other way.

Pay up front. When eating at restaurants, ask to pay at the terminal instead of giving your credit card to a server for processing.

Review your statements. View your bank and card statements on a regular basis. Watch for suspicious charges.

Notify someone. If you spot a suspicious pinpad or payment processing machine, notify someone immediately. If you are using a bank’s ATM and the bank is open, notify the bank manager. Otherwise, notify the local police.

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