While cashiers at the Circle K on the corner of Lemon Street and Rural Road usually ask for customers' IDs when they pay with credit cards, a greater identity-theft risk was recently lurking outside the store.
Last week, a suspected identity thief installed a skimming device, which illegally scans users' credit card information, at the movie rental machine located at the store front, according to Redbox, the company operating the machine.
The skimming device, which was mounted directly onto the machine above its own card reader, is designed to read and save data from cards' magnetic strips.
The convenience store is near Cholla Hall and Hassayampa Academic Village and is frequented by ASU students.
Redbox spokeswoman Kristin Zanini said she didn't know if the device merely stored cardholders' information or may have been able to relay it electronically, but added that Redbox had no evidence the skimming attempt was successful.
"The device was found and removed before any information was lost," Zanini said.
However, Zanini urged customers of the affected location — whom Redbox informed about the incident in an e-mail — to check their credit card statements and contact their financial institutions if they discover any unaccountable charges.
This is the first time that Redbox, which operates 7,400 movie rental machines in 48 states, has been targeted, Zanini said. But the company discovered similar devices installed in Las Cruces, NM, the same week it learned of the Tempe device, she added.
Arizona authorities are familiar with attempts to use devices attached to credit-card readers and scanners to gain access to users' credit card information, said Andrea Esquer, a spokeswoman for the state Attorney General Terry Goddard.
About a month and a half ago, a skimming device was removed from a gas station at the intersection of University Drive and state Route 101. In that case, suspected identity thieves had also installed a camera to gain access to victims' debit card security codes, Esquer said.
With more than 137 complaints per 100,000 residents, Arizona ranks No. 1 for identity theft in the Federal Trade Commission's 2007 report on consumer fraud.
The Attorney General's Office is familiar with skimming devices, such as the one found at the Redbox machine, Esquer said.
Customers who want to protect themselves might want to consider paying the cashier rather than swiping their card at a machine, Esquer said.
"If you think something is fishy, it's best [not to use a credit card]," Esquer said. "Cash is always good."
Reach the reporter at: andre.f.radzischewski@asu.edu.
