A proactive, multi-jurisdictional operation conducted by the US Secret Service and local law enforcement in the Baltimore region successfully destroyed 22 illegal card skimming devices this week, saving an estimated $22.9 million in potential fraud damages, the agency reported on Friday.
On October 22-23, 2025, the Secret Service, various local police departments, sheriff’s offices, and the Maryland Department of Human Services collaborated on an outreach operation to combat EBT fraud and payment card skimming.
Teams went to 493 businesses and inspected over 3,000 point-of-sale terminals, gas stations, and ATMs in Baltimore and nearby areas. The initiative centered on finding and removing the concealed devices that criminals use to steal card data, particularly from EBT cards used by poor people to get government aid.
“The U.S. Secret Service, and our law enforcement and state agency partners, remain committed to combatting EBT fraud and payment card skimming in Maryland and throughout the country,” said Brian McDonough, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Baltimore Field Office. “This proactive approach allows us to identify and remove skimming devices that target our nation’s most vulnerable populations.”
EBT fraud, which targets benefits intended for food and basic necessities, has been on the rise countrywide. Skimming devices on card readers are used by criminals to collect card numbers and PINs, after which they construct clone cards to deplete accounts, frequently timing their theft around monthly benefit deposits.
The outreach effort not only removed the skimming technology but also provided companies with instructional materials to identify the warning signals of unlawful devices.
The operation involved participation from the:
- Annapolis Police Department
- Baltimore Police Department
- Bel Air Police Department
- Cecil County Sheriff’s Office
- Harford County Sheriff’s Office
- Howard County Police Department
- Maryland Department of Human Services
The Secret Service stated that this local initiative is part of a series of similar operations taking place across the country to counteract the estimated $1 billion in annual losses caused by skimming of customers and financial institutions.
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