Springfield police searching for skimming suspect

SPRINGFIELD, MA (WGGB/WSHM) – Springfield police are once again urging businesses and retailers to be vigilant in checking for skimming devices after finding several devices around the city over the past week.

Springfield Police are asking the public for help in locating the suspect, who was reportedly caught on camera allegedly removing a skimming device from a point-of-sale device at a grocery store. Meanwhile, earlier this week, two other suspects were captured by a surveillance camera placing an alleged skimming device over a point-of-sale device in at least one supermarket.

Western Mass News spoke with Ryan Walsh, spokesperson for the Springfield Police Department, who told us investigators believe the suspects may be working together.

“There are certainly some leads on some individuals… these different towns and cities in Massachusetts that have the same suspects in similar cases, so our detectives are working hard to track them down,” Walsh explained.

In the meantime, Walsh had this advice for customers in the Springfield area. ‘We don’t want anyone to have to go through the hassle and mess that comes with tracking down your money, so check your bank account if I’ve been to a Springfield supermarket in the last two weeks. he said.

As for local businesses, Walsh noted, “We urge all these businesses, whether you are in Springfield or not, to check your point-of-sale devices regularly, which will save your customers a lot of headaches.”

Walsh said customers should feel free to gently wiggle or pull on point-of-sale devices before using them to ensure no skimming devices are in place. “It’s not necessarily easy to get off depending on how the glue holds, so you can mess around with it a bit. Please do that. If you go to a POS machine and see if something is wrong, see if there’s a glitch, that’s a red flag. Notify a manager,” he said.

Walsh said if you don’t have to use a PIN, don’t. He recommended tapping whenever possible.

If you have any information about the suspects, you are urged to contact Springfield Police.