Credit Card Skimming In Georgia
What Savannah and Chatham County Residents Need To Know Now

Published by Professional Advice LLC

Credit and debit card skimming has accelerated across Georgia, and Savannah and Chatham County are not exempt. Law enforcement in the area has recently confirmed the discovery and removal of skimming devices at gas stations and retail checkout lanes, including a Murphy Express location on Abercorn Street and two Kroger stores in Chatham County. Similar warnings have gone out for national drugstore chains operating locally. At the same time Georgia has absorbed tens of millions of dollars in losses tied to Electronic Benefit Transfer fraud, and national estimates place annual skimming losses at more than one billion dollars. The takeaway is simple. Anyone who swipes or inserts a card at an unattended terminal is a potential target.

How skimming works

Card skimming is the theft of payment card data at the moment you use your card

1. External skimmer readers are slipped over or into a legitimate card slot to copy the data on the magnetic stripe

2. Keypad overlays or tiny pinhole cameras capture your personal identification number

3. Shimmers are ultra thin devices inserted into chip readers that intercept data passing between your card chip and the terminal

4. Criminals use the stolen data to clone cards or to conduct card not present transactions online

These devices are designed to blend in. They are often installed quickly in busy, well lit stores and fuel stations, not just at isolated stand alone ATMs.

The scope of the problem

Georgia has reported substantial EBT skimming losses, with experts recently estimating roughly twenty three million dollars lost in a single month. Broader credit card fraud metrics show Georgia residents collectively losing millions more, with hundreds of identified victims in a single year. Nationally investigators and financial institutions estimate more than three hundred thousand payment cards were compromised in 2023 alone, affecting thousands of banks and credit unions.

Why fuel pumps, grocery stores, drugstores, and EBT cards are prime targets

Fuel pumps and outdoor payment terminals are rarely attended, are often older magnetic stripe technology, and may not be inspected frequently by staff. Grocery store and drugstore self checkout lanes process high transaction volumes with brief customer dwell times, giving criminals more opportunities to install and remove devices undetected. EBT cards are commonly still swipe based, which makes them especially vulnerable to magnetic stripe skimmers.

How to protect yourself

Before you pay

1. Inspect the reader. Look for bulkiness, gaps, loose parts, mismatched colors, adhesive residue, or anything that moves when gently pulled

2. Check the keypad. If it feels spongy, thicker than usual, or it shifts, do not use it

3. Choose pumps closest to the store entrance or within direct camera view when paying for fuel

When possible change how you pay

4. Prefer contactless tap to pay or mobile wallets which tokenize and encrypt your card number

5. Pay inside with a chip reader instead of at the pump or an unattended terminal

6. Use a credit card instead of a debit card because credit cards provide stronger dispute protections and do not expose your bank balance

After you pay

7. Turn on real time transaction alerts for every card you own

8. Review statements frequently and dispute unfamiliar charges immediately

9. For EBT beneficiaries in Georgia use the state provided lock and unlock card features between transactions to reduce unauthorized use

10. Change your PIN regularly and never re use it on multiple cards

What to do if you find a skimmer or think you are a victim

1. Stop the transaction and photograph the device only if it is safe to do so

2. Notify store management immediately and ask them to disable the terminal

3. Contact your bank or card issuer at once to freeze or replace your card and dispute fraudulent charges

4. File a report with your local law enforcement agency such as the Savannah Police Department or the Chatham County Police Department

5. Report EBT related theft to the Georgia Department of Human Services

6. Submit a complaint to the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov so the incident becomes part of the national investigative picture

7. Consider filing an identity theft report with the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud dot ftc dot gov if personal information beyond card data was exposed

Guidance for merchants and station owners

1. Conduct and log daily visual inspections of every terminal including opening enclosures where possible

2. Install tamper evident seals on fuel pump doors and reconcile seal numbers at every shift change

3. Migrate to EMV chip and contactless capable terminals and disable legacy magnetic stripe fallback whenever the network permits it

4. Use pump locking hardware and remote alarmed systems that alert staff when a door is opened

5. Train front line employees to recognize device anomalies and to act immediately when a customer reports suspicious hardware

6. Coordinate with local police and card brands to ensure video evidence and device samples are preserved for investigation

Policy recommendations worth watching

1. Wider adoption of real time transaction alerts across all issuers by default not opt in

2. Mandatory EMV and contactless acceptance at all fuel pumps statewide

3. Statewide consumer education campaigns targeted at SNAP and EBT beneficiaries that explain how to lock cards and how to get reimbursed when theft occurs

4. Faster reimbursement pathways for victims of EBT skimming who often lack the protections credit card holders receive

The bottom line

Card skimming is no longer a rare event at a distant unattended ATM. It is showing up on busy corridors in Savannah and throughout Chatham County, at grocery stores, drugstores, and gas stations that residents use every day. With a short checklist, a bias toward contactless payment methods, and rapid reporting to banks and law enforcement, consumers can sharply reduce the odds of financial loss and help investigators take these devices and the people who place them off the street.

Sources

Savannah Police public warnings reported by WJCL
Chatham County Police advisories reported by WTOC
Georgia EBT skimming loss estimates reported by 13WMAZ and 11Alive
National loss and compromise estimates reported by Listerhill Credit Union
WalletHub credit card fraud statistics for Georgia
Federal Bureau of Investigation guidance on skimming
Georgia Attorney General Consumer Protection Division guidance on credit card skimming
Georgia Department of Human Services EBT security advisories