Transit Police Are Warning People After Finding Debit & Credit Card Skimmers In Vancouver

Credit and debit card skimmers were found at three Compass vending machines in Metro Vancouver, and transit police are now investigating.

The card skimmer devices are used to obtain personal information — such as your credit card number — from the card used for the payment.

The Metro Vancouver Transit Police are warning people to keep an eye out for the card skimmers and to check with their bank if they used any of the compromised vending machines at the Canada Line stations.

The three different card skimmers that were found are now "undergoing forensic analysis," said the transit police in a release.

The police do not know if any card data was stolen yet, but said that as a precaution anyone who used a debit or credit card at the stations while the card skimmers were there should "check with their financial institution to ensure their cards have not been compromised."

The card skimmers are thought to have been in place at the following stations and times:

• Marine Drive Station on Thursday, March 24 between 6:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.
• Vancouver City Centre Station on Thursday, March 31 between 5 a.m. and 12 p.m.
• YVR Airport Station between 12 p.m. on Thursday, March 31 and 8 a.m. on Friday, April 1

Police are asking the public to help look for any more skimmer devices that might be out there.

"An unaltered CVM [Compass vending machine] has a black camera above the PIN pad. A CVM with a skimmer has the black camera covered and a hole for a pinhole camera instead," police said.

"The material used to cover the existing camera may also be peeling away from the CVM surface, or have signs of glue or tape," they added.

Card skimmer found on a Compass vending machine in Metro Vancouver.Metro Vancouver Transit Police

If you spot a card skimmer on a CVM, they asked that you do not touch it and that you report it to a station attendant or to transit police by calling 604-515-8300 or texting 87-77-77.