Police Dealing w/Skimming

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Published on August 1 2015 9:51 am
Last Updated on August 1 2015 9:51 am
Written by Greg Sapp

Area police are dealing with a new type of fraud...skimming.

Gas stations in some area communities, including Effingham, have been hit by someone who has opened up a gas pump with a master key and placed a flash drive onto the credit card reader capturing the credit card data. Salem Police Detective Bryan Green said those responsible return later to retrieve the flash drive. The captured numbers are then transferred to blank magnetic strips the group is using to make purchases.

Green says at least half a dozen people who had their numbers captured at the Salem gas pump have now had purchases made on their accounts. Those purchases total $2,000 in electronics at the Salem Walmart and several thousand dollars worth of cigarettes from various locations. The purchases have been made at a number of locations, including two in Centralia.

Police have been visiting the purchase locations to obtain video and whatever other information can be found. Green said so far they have not been able to identify a suspect. He believes the numbers were stolen from the Salem gas pump in early July, with purchases starting to show up on July 12.

Green is recommending everyone who pays for gas at the pump to check their credit card statements to make sure there are no unauthorized charges. He also encourages everyone to be alert when paying for gas with a credit card at the pump. Green says many pumps have seals that if broken would indicate someone has tampered with the pump. If you are concerned, he suggested paying inside.

We spoke with Effingham City Police detective head Todd Ebbert, who said there is an open case of skimming locally. Ebbert said a flash drive was located inside a gas pump somewhere in the city.

Local police earlier encouraged residents to check their card statements for improper charges.