The Better Business Bureau issued a consumer alert Friday after ATM skimmers were found at multiple Chicago Walgreens stores.
The devices were discovered at three locations in the city’s Loop, including the Madison and Wells store, the Monroe and Clark location, and the flagship store on State Street.
Skimmers are typically fake card readers attached to things like ATMs or gas pumps that steal account information from customers.
To combat the theft of account information or even your identity, experts advise you to inspect a machine before swiping your credit or debit card.
“The Better Business Bureau recommends twist. Twist it, see if it’s actually an actual machine, the card reader, to see if it falls off or something on top of it,” said Chicago BBB President Steve Bernas.
Walgreens said a third party owns and operates the ATMs in its drugstores, and the company planned to inspect the machines at all of its Chicago locations.
“Any business that offers an ATM as a convenience to their customers could face this issue,” a spokesman for Deerfield-based Walgreens said in a statement.
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“The ATMs in our drugstores are owned and operated by a third party and at our request they will immediately begin to inspect all ATMs in our Chicago locations,” the spokesman added.
