(WWJ) -- If you’ve been to one of these Michigan gas stations as of late, you may want to double-check your credit card statements.
The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) recently conducted a routine inspection, and found skimmers at eight gas stations across the state.
Here are the locations of the gas stations:
-Admiral, 3221 Division S., Wyoming
-Admiral, 5342 Westnedge, Portage
-Sunoco, 40200 Michigan Ave., Canton
-Admiral, 4315 Chicago Drive, Grandville
-Mobil, 1396 Ecorse Road, Ypsilanti
-Sunoco, 5843 S. Martin Luther King, Lansing
-Mobil, 1500 Haslett Rd, East Lansing
-FlexxMart, 496 Main St. Belleville
“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,” said Timothy Waters, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. “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 likes this one.”
MDARD Labor Division Director Craig VanBuren says the responsible parties “cut, broke or removed” the security tape that’s typically put into place to protect patrons from theft.
“It is important that both the stations and customers remain vigilant at the pump when using a bank or credit card,” VanBuren added.
Skimmers copy the information of customers’ credit or debit cards when they swipe or insert into the reader.
MDARD recommends using caution before using a debit or credit card at a gas pump. Although skimmers cannot be detected from the outside, customers should be on the lookout for pumps that appear to have been tampered with or damaged.
Skimmers also tend to be inserted into machines further away from gas stations’ stores, so using closer pumps is another good way to avoid card theft.
Anyone who believes their credit or debit card information may have been compromised should immediately contact their banks.
The FBI and the MDARD are continuing to investigate the situation.
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