X

Credit Card Skimmer Spotted on MetroCard Machine


April 11, 2014 | Andy Cush

If you used your credit card to buy a MetroCard at 59th Street-Columbus Circle recently, you might want to check your bank statement. An anonymous rider spotted a credit card skimmer — a device that captures and records card information — mounted to a vending machine on the north side of the downtown 1 train platform.

Here’s what it looked like, via the MTA. Note the wires hanging from the bottom of the slot.

There was also a camera and battery pack disguised as an electrical outlet. The small hole at the bottom hides the camera’s lens.

No other skimmer sightings have been reported, but the MTA says it is checking every station. “We have already dispatched personnel to check all MVMs system-wide today for other devices,” MTA New York City Transit President Carmen Bianco said in a statement.

(Photo: @MrT.inDC)