Two men are wanted for trying to scam shoppers out of their credit card information.
Market Basket and Walmart stores have been targeted. Police say the same two men have been installing credit card skimmers around New England.
Police in Concord, New Hampshire, said their investigation began on Oct. 19, when the Walmart on Loudon Road alerted them that a loss prevention associate at the store had located a credit card skimmer affixed to one of the registers in the self-checkout lane.
Eight days later, on Oct. 27, police received a call from the Market Basket on Storrs Street saying a similar device had been found attached to one of the registers in their express lane checkout.
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"I think those people are terrible," said shopper Hope Moore. "I understand a lot of people are in tough times, but that is a really sad thing for someone to do."
The devices are used to obtain sensitive information from credit and debit cards which are relayed to a third party. One telltale sign that a skimmer is attached is that the card chip reader slot is inoperable and appears to be jammed, causing the customer to swipe the card so the magnetic reader can steal the card's information.
"It's unfair, because people work hard for their money, or they're on low income like I am, so if that ever happened to me, I would just be so upset and say, 'Why did they do this?'" said shopper Lois Hugh. "Go out and get a job, work for your money."
"I usually take a good look at the device before I put my card in," said Moore. "If it looks like it's been tampered with, then I'll stop and not put my card in."
Market Basket says routine security audits take place daily, and that's how they found the suspicious devices at the Concord and Nashua locations in New Hampshire, and at stores in the Massachusetts communities of Haverhill, Reading and Somerville.
Concord police said their investigation determined that both devices they observed had been installed by the same two people on Oct. 17. And they said similar incidents are being investigated by law enforcement agencies across New England. They released surveillance images of the two suspects Tuesday, and are asking anyone who recognizes them to contact police.
Those who recognize either of the suspects or who believe their credit card information was compromised are asked to contact Detective Stephen Hemming at shemming@concordpolice.com or call 603-225-8600, Ext. 4854. Anonymous tips can be called in to the Concord Regional Crimeline at 603-226-3100 or submitted online at www.concordregionalcrimeline.com.
