Fight against skimmers

TYLER — The Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center says it prevented tens of millions of dollars in losses last year connected to organized fraud. According to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, the center’s first year in operation prevented loses of nearly $48.5-million. It also helped root out 396 credit card skimmers. The center opened last year in Tyler as the first-of-its-kind in the nation, putting various law enforcement agencies in coordination to the fraud. Beyond just gas pumps, the center has recorded what the state calls “an astronomical amount” of fraud from other types of credit card skimming committed by foreign nationals, including ATM and point-of-sale skimming that specifically targets state benefit cards.