Watch for fraudulent charges, especially after using credit cards at gas pumps. That is the message from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development after routine inspections turned up a number of illegal “skimmers” at gas stations.
The skimmers are located inside the credit card payment devices and are used to fraudulently “skim” credit card information for illegal use. The inspections found skimmers in eight Michigan communities. None were found in the Blue Water area at this time.
Timothy Waters, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan warned, “Criminals who engage in this type of illegal activity exploit and manipulate the very technology that we depend on to conduct secure financial transactions in the retail marketplace. “
Waters said, “The FBI and its local, state, and federal law enforcement partners are committed to protecting consumers, businesses, and financial institutions from fraud schemes conducted by criminal enterprises like this one.”
MDARD continues to look for skimmers during routine inspections and asks anyone who thinks they may have been a victim of such a crime to report it immediately.
Reporting for WGRT – Jennie McClelland
