BY GAYLA CAWLEY
LYNN — Emil Velcu and a male juvenile were arrested for allegedly stealing credit card information at Walmart by attaching a skimming device over the card reader at a cash register.
Lynn Police responded to the store Tuesday. Security guards determined that the skimmer had been in place for about 24 hours. Surveillance video showed two suspects placing the skimmer on the check-out machine the prior morning, said Lynn Police Lt. Rick Donnelly.
The device is designed to fit over the card reader at a register. When a customer makes a purchase, sliding his card to make the payment, the register allows the person to complete the sale. The device captures the information held on the magnetic strip on the card, which is then stored, Donnelly said.
Eventually, the skimmer is retrieved and the information downloaded, which can be transferred to a blank credit card stock or gift card. Those can then be used to make fraudulent purchases, without the legitimate owner of the card aware it has been compromised, Donnelly said.
On Tuesday night, police received another call from Walmart Loss Prevention officers informing them that the suspects were back in the store. Before police arrived, dispatch received a call from the store stating that the suspects fled from Walmart on foot into the Logan Furniture store parking lot, getting into a silver colored van with California plates, Donnelly said.
Lynn Community Police officers spotted the van speeding down the Lynnway towards the Nahant rotary. Velcu, 22, and the 16-year-old juvenile were arrested after being identified by witnesses and surveillance photographs. The van was found abandoned in the Porthole Restaurant parking lot, Donnelly said.
Both are charged with possessing equipment for forging and counterfeiting credit cards, identity fraud, larceny, trespassing and disorderly conduct.
Velcu told police he is from Romania and entered the country from Mexico. His last known address is in New Jersey. A report was filed with the Department of Children and Families for the juvenile’s arrest. He arrived in the country on Sunday from France, where his parents still live, Donnelly said.
Gayla Cawley can be reached at gcawley@itemlive.com. Follow her on Twitter @GaylaCawley.