The interesting thing in this case is that the cops may have in effect caused more credit card numbers to be skimmed (innocent people's data taken against their

The interesting thing in this case is that the cops may have in effect caused more credit card numbers to be skimmed (innocent people's data taken against their will, and possibly sent or stored in plaintext somewhere along the way, putting them in further jeopardy) than the original thieves did with their skimmer. But rememeber, when a government agent does it (whether cops here or soldiers or drones abroad) it's good and just. Only when a "bad guy" does something is it evil and wrong. If the government spies on you, it's legal. When you spy on them, it's illegal. If you were to plot to overthrow the US government, for example, it's treason: illegal and "evil". Whereas if the US government plots to overthrow a foreign government, it's perfectly legal and ok. Fun stuff to think about.