YORK COUNTY, Pa. -- Police across York County advise you to check your bank account if you've recently used an ATM.
There's at least 20 reported cases of cards being compromised in Newberry Township alone.
The card skimmers are being used to scam people out of their hard-earned money.
There are at least 20 cases being reported to Newberry Township Police, and police say there could very well be more here and across York County. It’s not just $20 being stolen, one family had over a $1000 taken.
"I’m looking at our bank account, and I see that we have 7 or 8 withdrawals out of the ATM for $400, $500, $600 dollars a time,” said Jamie Wright.
The Wright family has a mortgage bill due, car payments, and is celebrating a birthday while working with Fairview Township Police and their bank to recover nearly $1,600 from a skimming scam.
"Like he said there were seven withdrawals and then 4 balance inquiries so it was scary because they had our pin number where they could see how much money was in there and how much money they could withdrawal,” said Nikki Wright.
The Wrights are just one case of almost two dozen reports of people having their credit cards and debit cards compromised by skimming devices in York County.
"The skimmers were put on three weeks to four weeks ago. Usually convenience stores that have standalone ATMs is where we’ve been receiving the complaints from,” said Chief John Snyder with Newberry Township Police.
The skimmers work like this:
"It reads the numbers off your card. We’re finding out that they’re usually using a video camera to watch the keypad that correlates with your number,” he explained.
And they usually go undetected until missing cash from your account or a phone call from your bank - like in Jody Boyington's case.
"I’m actually quite appreciative they called me and let me know what happened because I really hadn’t been paying much attention, and I wouldn’t have found out otherwise,” said Boyington.
His information was taken... But not his money.
"Technicians that work on these things even said they blend in so well they can’t see them,” added Chief Snyder.
The devices are not just on ATMs, though. In Dauphin County, Lower Paxton Township police found these skimmers at a gas station on Jonestown road where the skimmer was placed inside the pump. No information was stolen, and police says it's a good idea to look for a broken seal on your gas pump to protect yourself from skimmers.
The Newberry Township Police chief says the department is talking with other police around York County, and the skimming stretches beyond county lines. He says there were cases reported in Lemoyne and Mechanicsburg in Cumberland County, and police unsure if they’re related.