Two cases of card skimming in Cumberland County have police asking people to take precautions when using a credit or debit card at ATMs or gas pumps.
Police are investigating and telling people what to do to avoid becoming a victim to card skimming.
Many people use a credit or debit card at gas pumps or ATMs, but how many check for skimming devices?
It's what Hampden Township Police are doing after officers received a report of a skimming device at a Citizens Bank at 4101 Carlisle Pike on October 25th. Mechanicsburg Borough Police reported another one at a gas pump at Sun Up Market on Market Street on October 23rd.
Hampden Township Police detective Robert Higgins said "at least two of us went out and we started going from gas station to gas station, and to all the banks, to make personal contact with them. Let them know what happened, and try to give them some sort of guidance on what to look for."
What people should look for includes any ATM that looks loose, scratched or tampered with, if so, don't use it.
Also remember, when using an ATM or gas pump, always cover up the key pad--even if no one is standing behind you.
"Cameras that have been placed on these devices can be very very tiny, but what they're aiming at is the keypad. So, if you can take a quick look at the ATM, see just where a camera could be placed that would be able to see the keypad at the same time," Higgins said.
A PIN and credit card information are not the only thing thieves are taking.
"They're using the highways as just a means of traveling from one area to another, where they are just targeting gas stations and banks that are close to highways where they put the device. They leave, and then they'll come back at a later time to collect the information," Higgins said.
Although the devices have already been removed, anyone who finds out that they've become a victim to credit card skimming should still report it to police because that's information that officers can use.
"To try to track where the card was used, and then we can possibly get surveillance video from another location where somebody used the card. Quite often, it's not going to be the same person that put the skimming device in, but it gets us that much closer to finding out who the main person involved is," Higgins said.