A string of credit card skimmers has surfaced at nine Roche Bros. supermarkets around Boston, unsettling shoppers with a high-tech heist scheme. According to a release from the grocer, the first of the sinister devices was found in their Wellesley location on April 24, prompting an immediate investigation. In mere minutes after its installation at 1:17 p.m., alert staff in the Bridgewater store netted another skimmer, as seen on security footage.

As reported by WCVB, a company release detailed that the apprehension of a skimming device in Bridgewater at 1:20 p.m. came swiftly after the Wellesley discovery sent shockwaves through the company, with associates on high guard. The remaining seven skimmers were found at the Watertown, Westwood, Natick, Downtown Crossing, Sudbury, and Needham locations on April 24, with a double trouble finding at West Roxbury the next day.

Kevin Barner, Roche Bros. CEO, lauded his team in a statement, "We are immensely proud of the vigilance and dedication demonstrated by our store teams in safeguarding our customers’ payment data." He credited "daily security inspections" and "immediate dissemination of information to all stores" as critical to the skimmers' speedy detection.

So far, no customer data breach has been reported following the incidents. Cybersecurity speaker and author Robert Siciliano chipped in his advice, telling Boston 25 News, "That chip is much harder to clone than a magnetic strip." Emphasizing the rising sophistication of such crimes, he points to organized crime's likely involvement in crafting the 3D printed skimming devices. Skimmers had also popped up at Big Y supermarkets last December, with a flurry of installations right before Christmas.

In recent memory, Roche Bros. has not been spared by the digital pickpockets, with an announcement back in December 2023 revealing the discovery of skimmers at various self-checkout lanes across the Sudbury Farms and Brothers Marketplace stores, as well as Roche Bros. locations in Wellesley and Natick. Vigilance remains key as the modern-day burglary takes on a wireless facade, with grocery goers advised to tap or insert their chipped cards to stay a step ahead.