Federal agents with the U.S. Secret Service quietly fanned out across Cleveland in late January and came back with a haul that could have saved residents a financial nightmare. In a one day sweep, agents pulled six illegal card skimmers from local businesses, devices investigators say were capable of siphoning millions of dollars from bank and EBT cards. The outreach covered more than 1,580 point-of-sale terminals at 247 locations and is part of a broader push to find hidden devices on ATMs, gas pumps and checkout counters before they drain accounts, a risk that hits low-income families especially hard.
According to Cleveland 19, the Jan. 21 sweep in Cleveland took agents through grocery stores, gas stations and other retailers and turned up six active skimmers. U.S. Secret Service Assistant Special Agent in Charge Michael Peck told the station that criminals typically sell stolen card data on the dark web or load it onto new cards for fraud, and he cautioned that “the technology these groups have developed is very, very good.” The agency estimates that pulling those devices prevented roughly $6.25 million in potential losses in the Cleveland area, which is not exactly a rounding error.
Part of a nationwide crackdown
The Cleveland operation was one piece of a much larger campaign the Secret Service and its partners have been running to disrupt skimming networks before stolen data reaches underground markets. Industry reporting and agency statements say investigators conducted dozens of similar outreach operations in 2025, visiting more than 9,000 businesses, checking nearly 60,000 terminals and dismantling about 411 illegal skimming devices. Officials say that work headed off an estimated $428.1 million in potential fraud. For a sense of the program’s scope, see Payments Dive.
Other cities swept
The January push was not limited to Cleveland. Coordinated visits also rolled out in Cincinnati, Seattle and Denver. Public summaries of the multi city effort list 255 businesses checked in Cincinnati with no skimmers discovered, 532 businesses and 14 devices found in Seattle, and 362 businesses and 19 devices recovered in Denver. The uneven haul across cities shows how heavily some markets get targeted compared with others. National and local summaries compiled those counts, and Yahoo reviewed the numbers.
How to spot a compromised reader
Officials and consumer protection pages say a quick look before you swipe can save you a major headache. Check for card readers that are loose, crooked, oddly bulky or heavier than they should be, and watch for extra stickers or components that do not match the rest of the terminal. When possible, the Secret Service recommends using chip insertion or tap-to-pay, running a debit card as credit so you do not enter a PIN, and choosing ATMs located indoors in well lit areas. For official tips, see the guidance from the U.S. Secret Service and local advice from Cuyahoga County…