WASHINGTON — It’s known as the ‘social Safeway’ on Wisconsin Avenue in Georgetown and John Perry-Miller is one of its many frequent shoppers.
“Three times a week," said Perry-Miller.
While using a self-checkout on Wednesday evening, he noticed something was off.
“The keypad was very clearly new and that clued me in immediately," said Perry-Miller. He immediately alerted an employee.
“I told him, ‘You’ve got a skimmer.’ And he was very nice and said, ‘No, I don’t think it’s a skimmer.’ And I said, ‘No! I think you have a skimmer.' I’m like pulling it and then we pull it off together and he’s shocked," said Perry-Miller.
After it was detached, he took a picture of the device and uploaded it to social media where it now has hundreds of shares.
Perry-Miller said he felt a little disappointed leaving the store because of a lack of reaction from staff, but what got him even more upset was a statement Safeway sent him on social media.
It’s the same statement they sent us:
"Safeway takes these issues seriously and is investigating this matter, in coordination with law enforcement, to ensure appropriate action has been taken. In addition, we have implemented additional controls and associate training to help prevent this type of activity in the future."
“It was not thoughtful, it was not thought through and it was not personable. It was just so generic, and it almost fuels the fire," said Perry-Miller. “I’d like to see some action because I think a lot of people in the neighborhood are upset with that Safeway."
A couple of months ago, the same Safeway location underwent a security overhaul.
“They put in all of this money to stop people from stealing and taking things out of the store, now the crime is happening before you even leave the store," said Perry-Miller.
We showed a picture of the alleged skimmer to shoppers on their way out.
“You do the self-checkout because you’re in a rush and you want it to be convenient, so you just do it. You’re not thinking," said Safeway shopper Monica Nelsen. "Yeah, I would absolutely never notice that."
Perry-Miller told WUSA9 he’ll be back to shop at Safeway but will use cash instead of a card.
“If you’ve been to the Georgetown Safeway recently, I’d be checking your bank statements," he said.
DC Police tell us they received a call about fraud theft at that store Wednesday, but the department is waiting for more information from Safeway before it continues an investigation.
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