Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Police Investigating Credit Card Skimming Device Found in Gas Pump

Credit card skimming devices were found inside a gas station's pump in Schuylkill County.

The Saint Clair Police is warning customers that may have bought gas at the Exxon Gas Station, located at the intersection of Route 61 and West Russell Street between April 10 and April 15, 2017.

Police say they discovered and removed two credit card skimmer devices  that were found on a gas pump at the Exxon station located at Route 61 North and West Russell Street.

After investigated, they found criminals gained access to two fuel pump cabinets and removed a cable from each, replacing it with a cable that contained an information storage device and a Bluetooth transmitting device. These devices were storing card data and additionally recording the PIN sequence after an unsuspecting customer slid his bank card into the compromised gas pumps.

Police started receiving reports of theft from the bank accounts of several customers this past weekend and have since received around 40 complaints, all using debit cards.

After obtaining the credit card information, it is believe the thieves used cloned cards that were then taken to various ATM machines in the New York City area where cash was withdrawn. 

Police say the ownership and management of the Exxon station was completely cooperative with the investigation and had no role in the placement of the devices. Saint Clair Police have provided tips and information to the station to insure the pumps remain safe.