Rockford Scanner™: Do NOT Use Your Debit/Credit Cards At Local Stores, Alleged Thefts Going On

We have had several people reporting some local businesses have been stealing peoples debit/credit cards and using them illegally to purchase items. We can not confirm this, but several people have contacted us and said they have been victims. To put a long story short: If you have to hand over your card, then do NOT use it. Pay cash. If you are a victim, then call police right away. Below is from one alleged victim, there have been numerous reports of it not only happening at the local Mcdonalds, but several other area businesses as well.

Cristal Mari Franco posted these videos. Her theft allegedly happened at the Mcdonalds on Northridge: You can see a bunch of her videos and posts about the topic at


Rockford Scanner™: RPD has recently recovered skimming devices off of gas pumps

Rockford Scanner. Rockford’s Leading Online News Site!


SKIMMING SCAMS: RPD has recently recovered skimming devices off of gas pumps. Skimmers collect credit/debit card information that can then be used to create a new card or sold on the dark web. Watch the video to know what to look for at the pump, and ways to avoid falling victim to skimmers!

Note: RPD failed to say what locations that were effected.


Best Advice: Go inside and never pay at the pump. Not only are there skimmers, but they also take out more than you pay for and hold the cash awhile. Pay at the pump with debit is dangerous If you do ‘pay at the pump’ and you use debit, the gas station will put a giant hold of $100 to $150 or more on your card. You may only pump $20 of gas! But many times that hold won’t be released for days, and your checking account reflects that $100 or more hold. If you bounce a check because of that hold, your bank won’t cut you any slack. So if you need to use a debit card, go inside and present the card to the cashier. I know that defeats the whole purpose of pay at the pump. But that’s the only way to be sure you’ll only be debited the actual amount of gas you pump, rather than the $100 hold. The other disadvantage for debit card users is the plague of fake PIN readers. Criminals will put a device called a skimmer that is barely recognizable over where you put in your card. They use that to capture the transaction data from your card’s magnetic strip. And then they have tiny digital camera to record your 4 digit secret code as you enter it. Equipped with that info, the crooks can then duplicate your card and empty your checking account. When you complain to your bank, your bank treats you as the criminal. It’s ridiculous. So the reality is debit cards are not secure. Even more infuriating to me, as the banks rush to replace old credit cards with newer cards that have a chip, they are stalling on replacing people’s debit cards. That’s because the burden with a debit card falls on you, while the burden with a credit card falls on the bank. I know lots of people love their debit cards, so just know there is a lot of hazard that goes with using one! Source: