A federal task force has been created to crack down on credit card skimmers at South Florida businesses.
Agents are using handheld detectors called "Skim Busters" that allow them to find an illegal device without opening up the machine.
The feds say the two-day effort is to highlight the prevalence of card skimmers and to encourage business owners to check their equipment for the fake card readers.
The multi-agency operation includes U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office and the police departments of Miami Beach, the City of Miami, Doral, Hialeah and others.
Medley Branch Chief with USDA at the Miami Secret Service headquarters Mark Haskins says, "EBT cards, right now are, are perhaps the biggest area that's being attacked by fraudsters."
According to the FBI, "Embedded microchips secure customer payments far better than magnetic stripes," the FBI wrote in a guide on how to combat skimming. "The lack of chips on benefits cards make it far easier for bad actors to compromise them and "cash out."