| Chefs and restaurant owners want to know how to | | | | info on their computers at home and send it out of the |
| prevent customers' identity theft, so the speaker at the | | | | country." |
| August 2007 meeting of the Myrtle Beach chapter of | | | | Restaurants account for about 90 percent of all credit |
| the American Culinary Federation was Jay Shavitz of | | | | card skimming, he said, because a restaurant is just |
| Infinity Computer Systems. He explained how credit | | | | about the only environment where upon payment the |
| card information theft can occur at restaurants. | | | | credit cards are removed from customers' views. |
| It's called credit card skimming, he said, and some | | | | Jay then explained how the hand-held system his |
| restaurant servers are recruited by crime rings. The | | | | company sells can be used to take orders tableside |
| bad guys give the servers pocket-size "skimmers." | | | | (servers can even write on the mini-computer's |
| When the server gets a credit card and takes it to | | | | screen), and it doubles as a portable credit card |
| swipe in the restaurant's credit card terminal, he also | | | | terminal. That way the credit card is never out of the |
| gives the card a quick swipe through the skimmer. The | | | | customer's view. The units' batteries are good for |
| skimmer gets the card's information off its magnetic | | | | about nine hours, so one unit can get through three |
| strip and stores it. | | | | shifts on two batteries. It's also possible to have a |
| "The skimmers can hold information from 200 to 300 | | | | belt-size printer so customer receipts can be printed |
| credit cards," Jay said, "and then they download the | | | | on the spot. |