Credit Card Skimmer Warning

Monday, January 28, 2019 at 11:34 AM

To help reduce chances of falling victim to this crime, police are advising citizens to stand next to the pump and search for Bluetooth signals on their smartphone BEFORE inserting their debit/credit card. If new signals are received containing random, unreadable or unrecognizable letters or numbers, DON’T USE THE PUMP!

From Farmington Police:

Detectives with the Farmington Police Department are investigating a case of credit card skimming and have tips to help citizens avoid falling victim to this scam. On January 26, 2019 officers responded to a local gas station after numerous gas pumps were found with damage. The pumps were inspected, which led to the discovery of two credit card skimmers that had been placed on the pump’s computer. These skimmers are internal and transmit using Bluetooth technology. The devices cannot be seen from the outside of the pump but can be detected using a smartphone.

Anyone who believes they’ve been the victim of a card skimmer should notify their financial institution and call police.

If you have any information that could assist in identifying the person or persons responsible for this scam, please contact the Farmington Police Department Detective Tip Hotline at (505) 599-1068 or call non-emergency dispatch at (505) 334-6622.

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