The U.S. Secret Service said Friday that a two-day operation in Harris County uncovered skimmers on 14 card readers after agents and local, state and federal law enforcement visited almost 400 businesses and checked more than 3,100 point-of-sale terminals, gas pumps and ATMs.
Officials did not identify the businesses where the devices were found. But the operation was believed to have saved about $14.5 million from being stolen, a reminder of how quickly card-skimming fraud can spread when thieves hide devices inside ordinary-looking payment terminals.
The sweep was part of a nationwide Secret Service initiative timed ahead of the FIFA World Cup, with investigators trying to make sure international visitors are not targeted while they are in the United States. The agency said skimming drains about $1 billion a year, and the Harris County effort was meant to interrupt that loss before it reached travelers, shoppers and merchants.
Thomas Rizza, speaking for the Secret Service, said the agency is always working to protect the public, but that this operation was carried out ahead of the World Cup to keep overseas visitors from being preyed upon. He said continued coordination with law enforcement partners is essential to stopping the fraud and protecting people who depend on these financial systems.
The operation also included outreach to businesses, with authorities sharing information on how to spot skimming devices on card readers. That matters because the fraud is often invisible until customers begin reporting unauthorized charges, by which point the devices may have been collecting data for days or weeks.
The tension in Harris County is simple: the machines that make daily purchases easy are also the ones criminals try to exploit most quietly. By the time officials finished their sweep, they had found only 14 compromised readers among more than 3,100 inspected, but that still points to how widespread the threat can be when no one is looking closely.
For merchants, the message from Friday’s report is direct. The devices can be hidden in plain sight, the losses can run into millions, and the next round of checks may matter even more as the FIFA World Cup approaches and the number of visitors rises.
