Florida Police have confirmed they carry knowledge of a new card machine scam that could affect residents.
The “broken card machine” skimming manoeuvre could be the next scam to hit restaurant patrons in the area. A recent article by MyBroadband suggests the familiar phrase “this card machine is not working so I am just going to get another one quickly” could get patrons into deep financial trouble with skimming software possibly installed on the second ‘card machine’.
It is a statement a lot of patrons have heard lately and don’t think twice about.While patrons are enjoying an after-meal mint or scanning a wallet for a bank card to use, some criminally-minded waiters bring the second, possibly specially programmed device that looks like a regular point-of-sale (POS) machine to the table.
Cases have been reported in Cape Town, allegedly where skimming software was installed, recording card information as the card is swiped. It also allegedly records the pin number patrons put it.
It is believed that a syndicate operates the devices in many restaurants, compensating waiters handsomely to introduce it.
Should this situation occur locally, residents are advised to keep the second device on the table, check its serial number and ask management whether the device belongs to the establishment.
Florida Police spokesperson Lydia Dikolomela said the station is aware of similar scams, but could not yet confirm whether cases were opened in this regard. Roodepoort Police could not be reached for comment.
Witpoortjie Pizza Del Forno’s owner Johan Struwig told the Record other card skimming devices, much smaller in size, could also be used. His establishment has not been targeted, but he has certain safety measures in place to prevent scaly transactions and card skimming.
“For example, a card cannot be swiped a second time in my restaurant without a special pin that only the manager can enter.”
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