UPDATED: Bloomingfoods East finds second card skimming device this year, manager says information not compromised

The card skimming device found at Bloomingfoods Co-op Market East on Sept. 30 is not believed to have compromised customers’ information, according to the location manager, Jacob Wittman. 

On Sept. 30, Bloomington Police Department received a report from a Bloomingfoods East employee that a card skimming device was found. 

The device was removed within 24 hours of being installed, Wittman said. Because the device was never retrieved by the suspects, Wittman believes customers' information was not compromised. 

The report came after another card skimming device was previously found July 12, which security footage later revealed was placed June 28.  

According to Wittman, the device found Sept. 30 was different from the device found in July. The more recent card skimming device was not remotely operated, he said, which meant the suspects who planted the device would have had to return to the store to gather any information obtained by it.  

Wittman explained that multiple suspects took part in placing the device. He said by looking at the footage, he could tell the suspects were different from the suspects caught on footage in the July incident. Wittman said an employee noticed the device after using the new card readers installed after the first card skimming device was found.  

Bloomingfoods implemented new security measures including “upgraded hardware and security, enhanced surveillance and monitoring, updated staff training to detect tampering” after the first device was found in July. Wittman said the new security measures helped discover the device reported quickly last Tuesday. 

Wittman said he believes card skimming happens more than people realize, possibly because companies aren’t transparent when they find a card skimming device.  

The investigation is still active as BPD attempts to identify suspects through security footage obtained by Bloomingfoods.