Attention Bay State residents: When you are out doing your grocery shopping, pay heed to your surroundings especially when using a credit or debit card when checking out.

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(Photo image of Big Y exterior courtesy of Yelp)

Recently, Big Y installed credit card skimmer shields at their Great Barrington supermarket. The much-needed move was made after nearly a year of discovering financial fraud devices at multiple stores in the region. Illegal skimmers are tucked inside credit card readers or ATM machines as they can collect card information.

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(Photo image of Cumby's exterior courtesy of Getty Images)

Cumberland Farms locations in the Western Massachusetts region have also been beset with this ongoing problem. So what should consumers do to avoid being a victim of these ongoing scams.

To educate you further, "skimmers" are devices that are illegally installed over or inside card readers at places like convenience stores, fuel pumps and ATMs to steal information off the cards. Here are some ways to detect skimming devices: 

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(Photo image of gas pump skimmer courtesy of IPGGutenbergUKLtd)

First things first, when you are filling up the gas tank look for an intact security seal near the card reader. If the seal is broken or the pump panel is open, the label will say "void" and there may be a skimmer which is often placed over the original keypad, so they may be hard to see. Feel around the reader and try to wiggle it to see if it can be easily removed. 

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(Photo image of FBI agents courtesy of Getty Images)

The FBI estimates skimming costs consumers and financial institutions more than $1 billion a year. Their web site has some valuable information about this practice and how you can protect yourself. Log on by going here.
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(Photo image of land line courtesy of Jummie)

Customers who have questions on this sensitive matter can call this toll free number: 1-800-828-2688 weekdays between the hours of 8am and 4:30pm.

(Some information obtained in this article courtesy of www.iberkshires.com/story/76019/Big-Y-Investigates-Conn.-Skimmer-Incident.html)
(Featured image of credit cards courtesy of Kenishirotie)

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