Adrianna Ceci said she visited the store a couple of weeks ago and tried to pay using the tap feature on her credit card.
"I went to pay with my credit card. I usually like to do the tapping. The guy at the register told me it won't work. I said, why? He said it's not working. You need to put your credit card in," she said.
Police later determined the point-of-sale terminal had been tampered with. A skimmer had been placed over the real device, allowing thieves to capture card data. Less than a day after her purchase, Ceci said she received a fraud alert.
"We got a call from the bank saying people were trying to do some charges on the credit card, and they wanted to know if it was us. It wasn't us," she said.
Norwalk police said they found two skimming devices at the Dollar Tree and, last week, a third at an ATM in the vestibule of a bank branch.
The devices are designed to blend in with legitimate payment terminals while containing electronics that intercept card information.
"As soon as you insert your credit card, it'll take all the information from your credit card. If it's a debit card, once you insert your PIN, it will retrieve also the PIN so that they can go back and use your information," Lt. Ramon Tejada of the Norwalk Police Department said.
Police recommend using contactless payment methods when possible. If swiping or inserting a card is necessary, they advise checking that the device is secure and covering the keypad when entering a PIN.
Ceci said she returned to the store to alert management.
"It's frustrating that stuff like that happens. I went to the store the next day and I tried to let the manager know and they didn't want to know anything about it," she said.
Ceci did not lose any money, but police said others may not be as fortunate. They are urging residents to stay vigilant as the investigation continues.
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