McKinney woman finds credit card skimmer in gas station – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

You’ve probably read warnings about credit card skimmers found at gas pumps. A woman says she discovered a scam she never expected, hiding in a busy grocery store near Medical City McKinney.

The victim, Nyshje Rattler, recorded a video of their discovery and shared it on social media.

“I’ve always heard it happen at the pumps. I always tug at it, but I’ve never heard of it happening in a store,” Rattler said. “I didn’t think that would happen in McKinney of all places.”

Her ordeal began Wednesday when she tried to buy a bag of chips at the 7-Eleven near her home.

“They said: You don’t have the money. And I said, sorry,” she recalls.

A call to her bank revealed that her account had been “wiped clean.”

“They said $300 was spent at Walmart in Houston. $200 at a Walmart in Katy. $187 at a Walmart in Houston. I thought, ‘That’s not me,'” Rattler said.

She thought back to the only purchase she made Monday night at the 7-Eleven on Medical Center Drive, where she does small groceries about five times a week.

“He [the cashier] I was obsessed with how I put the pen down, so I thought that was weird,” she said. “I kept thinking about it over and over again.”

She recalled a Los Angeles case involving a credit card skimmer and decided to return to the store to inspect both card readers.

“I compared the two and found that the one I grabbed was bulkier on the side and kind of protruded. It wasn’t flat like they said. So I just picked it up and it came up,” she said.

Nyzhje Rattler/NBC 5 News

McKinney Police are now investigating the incident and said skimmers are devices that criminals place over credit card readers to collect card numbers that are later used to spend the victim’s money.

“The skimmer is undergoing forensic examination,” said McKinney Police Department spokeswoman Carla Marion Reeves.

The lieutenant leading the investigation could not be reached for comment on Friday.

It is not clear what charges could be brought against the person or persons responsible.

As Rattler’s video was shared on multiple social media platforms, MPD said another potential victim came forward on Thursday.

It’s also unclear if police believe the scam was an “inside job,” but there are ways to protect yourself from these scams.

“You can actually try to wiggle it. Try tugging at it,” Reeves said. “There’s double-sided tape used to hold them down, nothing more, so criminals can take it easy.”

The store’s manager told NBC 5 he had no comment on the allegations. The owner did not respond to NBC 5’s request for information or an explanation.

If you believe you have been the victim of a scam at the 7-Eleven on Medical Center Drive, you are urged to call the McKinney Police Department non-emergency number at 972-547-2700.