ORMOND BEACH, Fla – Deputies are warning Publix shoppers that thieves are trying to steal their private information. This warning comes after a worker discovered a "skimmer" on an ATM outside a local supermarket.
The manager discovered the device in a shopping center at 3750 Roscommon Drive in Ormond Beach, near I-95 and old Dixie Highway.
"That's pretty scary the way information theft is the way it is," said Tonda Bian.
Shoppers at the Publix know all about the "skimming devices" thieves use to steal credit card information. That's why Mary Randolph inspects every place she uses her debit card.
"I pay attention to it because I live in Palm Coast and we've had quite a few banks with the skimmers on them," said Randolph.
Volusia County deputies got a call from the store manager Sunday afternoon. She checked the ATM outside in the morning, and again in the afternoon. Sometime in between, someone placed a "skimmer" on the front of the machine.
It's not the first time we've seen criminals targeting Publix with skimmers. Security video released in September of this year shows a man removing a skimmer from a Publix ATM in Daytona Beach. In the string of connected cases from September, police worried thieves were targeting ATMs at Publix stores up and down I-95. It's unclear if this recent incident is in any way related to that string of crimes.
Deputies said there's no telling how many victims may have used the ATM and had their information stolen.
"We just have to be really, ultra cautious," said Bian.
It's possible a security camera aimed at the ATM captured images of the crook who put the skimmer on the ATM.