Credit card scammers have hit McDonald’s outlets in Perth, with more than $2.5 million being stolen from 3500 bank accounts.
According to West Australian Police, EFTPOS devices at certain McDonald’s branches have been compromised and card and pin details have been obtained from debit and visa cards, as criminals had replaced EFTPOS card readers with lookalike skimming devices.
The police said it would only take about 20-30 minutes to switch the devices and this must have been done while staff were distracted.
The scam, which started at the beginning of October when bank customers reporting unauthorised payments and overseas withdrawals, has cost more than $2.5 million.
While the police couldn’t specify what kind of skimming device was used, McDonald’s said in a statement it had replaced all EFTPOS devices that had been compromised and was continuing to roll out measures to address any further issues.
It is not known how many McDonald’s outlets have been targeted or their location.