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CAUGHT ON VIDEO: Shopper catches duo installing skimmer on mall ATM

Police say the couple installed a card skimmer at an ATM in the middle of the mall’s food court. via WSBTV.com

ATLANTA — Police are warning mall goers this holiday season after WSBTV obtained video that shows a man and woman installing a card skimmer on an ATM at Lenox Square.

A witness told WSBTV's Carl Willis he saw it happen and told security.

"It's the season and everyone is going to be pulling out cash," the witness told Willis, asking not to be identified. "They did it very swiftly and very quick."

The man told Willis he happened to be standing on the second floor of Lenox Square when he looked down and saw a couple install two devices on an ATM.

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"I see the guy applying a lot of pressure in the top right corner. I thought that was abnormal," the man said.

Police say the couple seen on the video installed a card skimmer at an ATM in the middle of the mall’s food court

"As you watch you can see that they may have installed a pin camera," Sgt. Paul Cooper, with the Atlanta Police Department’s major fraud unit, told Willis.

With your card number and your PIN, thieves have everything they need to go on a shopping spree.
Police told Willis there's been an uptick in this kind of activity in the past couple of years.

"Our best guess is because we're transitioning from the mag-stripe to the chip and pin. The chips are encrypted and it's a lot harder to duplicate those cards," Cooper said.

Cooper worries if scammers are bold enough to hit a mall ATM, there are likely many more devices out there.

"We do try to target these people. We see that they tend to cross state lines they may be working the entire eastern seaboard right now," Cooper said.

For now, shoppers will have to take steps to keep thieves from swiping your information.

"Take that extra couple of seconds. Tug on it (the card reader). Look for those cameras. Just make sure you don't get burned," Cooper told Willis.

"Definitely cover up your PIN if you're not sure that it's a valid swiper or valid scanner try using another ATM,” the witness said.