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Credit, Debit Card Skimmer Scam Reported On Central Coast

(San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office photo)
A skimmer device which was installed on a gas station pump on the Central Coast

People on the Central Coast are being urged to check their credit and debit cards for suspicious activity, after card skimmers were found on multiple pumps at a gas station. A clerk at a Chevron gas station in San Miguel notified San Luis Obispo Sheriff’s deputies after he noticed suspicious activity on the station’s video surveillance system. Deputies found card skimmers devices on six of the station’s eight fuel pumps.

The sophisticated devices were placed inside of the pump cabinets, so customers wouldn’t see them. They were Bluetooth enabled, and set up so they could transmit customer data to a nearby laptop.

San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s detectives say all consumers should keep an eye on their card statements to try to make sure they aren’t the victims of fraud. And, they say that ideally, you go inside a gas station to pay to avoid the chance of being victimized by skimmers on outside pumps.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral.