If you bought a MetroCard at the 59th St./Columbus Circle station recently, you should go check your credit card statement. On Wednesday night around 9:30 p.m., a rider pulled a card skimmer from a MetroCard vending machine on the southbound 1 train platform and gave it to the station agent on duty. The NYPD is investigating, and MTA New York City transit president Carmen Bianco said, “We have already dispatched personnel to check all MVMs system-wide today for other devices.” The agency also released a series of photos to help riders identify skimmers in the future. Hint: If you see loose wires hanging from the credit card slot, you should probably say something.
In addition to the skimming device on the machine, a camera and battery pack disguised as a plug adapter were found mounted to cable channel.
The pinhole is the opening for the camera’s lens.
See more photos of the device here.
