Credit card skimmers are more common than most people would care to believe—and it’s a problem that’s only getting worse.

According to data analytics firm FICO, 2023 alone saw a 96% increase in credit card skimming scams, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has warned that such devices have been tied to international organized crime.

The impact of this crime is pretty severe, with the FBI estimating that skimming scams cost financial institutions and consumers more than $1 billion annually.

Thankfully, there are some things that consumers can look out for if they want to avoid their card being skimmed. One can visually inspect a credit card slot before they put theirs in, or one can be extremely vigilant about what a person does with their card after they hand it over.

Gainesville, Florida-based TikTok user Sherri (@whimsyintrovert) did the latter. Now, she has some questions.

Did This Chick-Fil-A Worker Skim A Woman’s Credit Card?

In a video with over 61,000 views, Sherri recounts an experience at Chick-fil-A that left her with a host of questions.

According to Sherri, she visited Chick-fil-A to get a large sweet tea. An employee came to her car and confirmed her order. Then she got ready to pay.

“Typically, once the order is confirmed, they’ll hold that little machine forward, and you, you know, tap your card on it,” Sherri explains.

However, this time was different. Sherri says that instead of simply letting her tap the machine with her card, the employee took the card and swiped it along the side of his body. Then, she says, he ran it through the machine. He then handed her her card back.

“I’ve been skimmed before at a gas pump, and they wiped out my checking account completely,” the TikToker recalls. “It’s FDIC insured, so I did get my money back within about a week. I just want to know what you think about this. Is that normal? Is there anything to be suspicious of?”

In a follow-up video, Sherri says she told a manager about her concerns. The manager, according to the customer, assured her that workers at the store do not have the ability to skim cards. She says this did little to quell her suspicions. In response, the TikToker says she locked her card and ordered a new one.

Immediately, commenters began to suspect that the worker had, in fact, skimmed the credit card.

Is One Swipe Enough To Skim A Credit Card?

However, most experts agree that the likelihood of someone getting their information taken this way is fairly low.

There are two main ways that a skimmer could get a card’s information. The first is through the magnetic strip on the back of the card. The second is through contactless payment.

In the case of the latter, this form of payment is encrypted and often does not contain other information necessary to use the card. That means that while someone could theoretically steal this data, and some security experts have demonstrated it happening, there is often not much a criminal could do with this data without considerable additional effort.

Regarding the former, magnetic strip skimming is one of the most common forms of credit card skimming. So it’s understandable to be afraid that someone may be trying to steal your credit card information using this method.

That said, this requires direct contact with the magnetic strip on the back of the card, which likely would have been visible to Sherri beyond just a simple swipe of the card on the side of the employee’s body.

Additionally, if one were to actually want to skim credit cards, hiding a device in their clothing would be unnecessarily complicated, as there are plenty of card skimmers that can be easily added to payment terminals and other places where people commonly place their credit cards, such as ATMs.

In short, Sherri’s concern about this situation is admirable, as it shows she’s aware of her credit card security. In practice, she likely doesn’t need to be too worried. But she can still lock her card, report the issue to the credit card company, and monitor it for suspicious charges in the future to be safe.

https://www.tiktok.com/@whimsyintrovert/video/7502019121794633003

Alternative Theories

Some commenters insisted that Sherri had her card skimmed. Others provided additional thoughts as to why the employee may have done this.

“He was probably cleaning the chip. I don’t usually try to clean it unless it isn’t working and I use my finger,” wrote a commenter. “You never know anymore though.”

“He’s doing that because it works better in the machine,” added another.

“He could’ve been wiping it because his machine is wonky,” echoed a third.

Regardless, other commenters said that there was no harm in simply canceling the card.

“Better safe than sorry,” declared a commenter. “Cancel that card & get a new one!”

BroBible reached out to Sherri and Chick-fil-A via email.

The post ‘They’re Not Supposed To Take Your Card’: Gainesville Woman Pulls Into Florida Chick-Fil-A Drive-Thru. Then A Worker Swipes Her Credit Card Across His Waist appeared first on BroBible.