Four scammers have been charged with stealing at least $38,000 from Walmart shoppers in Pennsylvania by allegedly using skimmers placed on self-checkout terminals.
Eighty people reported missing money, totaling at least $38,000 from a Walmart in Erie, Pennsylvania, in 2024 and 2025, Erie Police Department Detective James Becker told the Erie Times-News on May 5. The money was stolen mainly through Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) cards by skimmers placed on point-of-sale terminals. The skimmers were discovered in December 2024 and April 2025.
The Erie Police Department identified and charged four people with the scams. Three of the individuals were arrested in Orchard Park, New York, in September 2025, and the fourth suspect is possibly in the Chicago area, Becker said.
Facing charges in connection with the skimming device found in December 2024 are Remus Rosu, 30, and Louisa Unguru, 25. Facing charges in connection with the device found in April 2025 are Unguru, Constantin P. Giurebe, age not listed, and Cosmin L. Cretu, 28. Each suspect is facing felony counts of using a device to obtain encoded information and access device fraud, as well as misdemeanor counts of unlawful device, receiving stolen property and theft.
Police were able to identify the suspects through store video footage, revealing that on at least one occasion, the suspects removed a red security strip from a self-checkout terminal, which informs employees if a system has been tampered with.
Skimming Scams on the Rise
The recent scams in Pennsylvania aren’t the only ones of their kind. In February, a Baltimore man was arrested for allegedly installing card skimmers at multiple 7-Eleven locations in Maryland. Then, in March, a man and woman were arrested in Alabama for allegedly installing skimming devices at several stores, including a Family Dollar, in the Mobile metro area.
Skimming scams surged 90% in 2025, analytics company FICO found, with more than 3,500 financial institutions encountering skimming-related compromises last year.
How Do Card Skimmers Work?
Card skimmers capture a user’s card data and record PIN entries. This information can be used to create fake payment cards for unauthorized purchases.
Usually, card skimmers are attached to the internal wiring of a card reader and aren’t visible to a user, the FBI states on its website. Some skimmer devices fit over a terminal’s card reader.
EBT cards tend to be targeted, as they do not contain microchips, the FBI states. Embedded microchips secure a customer’s payment better than the traditional magnetic strip.
How to Watch Out for Skimming Scams
The FBI provides the following tips for protecting against skimming scams:
Inspect card readers and do not use them if one is loose, crooked, damaged or scratched.
Pull at the edges of the keypad before entering a PIN and cover the keypad as fully as possible to prevent hidden cameras from recording the entry.
Be especially mindful of skimmer devices in tourist areas, which are popular targets.
When possible, use cards with microchip technology.
Routinely monitor bank accounts for any potential fraudulent activity.
Always use a strong PIN. Avoid PINs that can be easily guessed, such as a string of the same consecutive numbers.
If you suspect your card was compromised, contact your financial institution immediately.
