Back in early May it was discovered that Michaels, a major national arts and crafts retailer, had about 90 of their debit terminals tampered with nationwide. It seems that skimming devices were put on the machines allow thieves to steal names, account numbers, and most importantly pin numbers. Authorities were aware of the problem but it seems that banks did not take the issue seriously enough, because this Memorial Day Weekend cardholders across Las Vegas were outraged and depressed to find that their accounts had been sucked dry by criminals.
"Doing it on a three day weekend with Memorial Day was very clever," says Mike Day, whose account was hit for $500. "You actually had to dig to find a number that would be answered by the bank so that you could shut down the card."
It's unknown how many Las Vegans were lost money during the mass withdrawals but it's easily in the thousands. Nevada Federal Credit Union alone had 1400 customer accounts compromised, and Action News reports that nearly every bank in the valley was affected. The bank has assured that customers will get their money back but they warned that it could take up to 10 days to get everything sorted out.
Michaels released a statement saying they 'sincerely regret any inconvenience this may cause' and that they have replaced all of their debit terminals nationwide with new models that are more tamper-resistant.
As always, stay tuned for more credit card news and updates.
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