Gas buyers beware: Card skimmer in pump was second device found in Beaufort, Jasper counties in March

While there's little consumers can do to protect their financial information at the gas pump, it's unlikely credit and debit card skimmers are lurking inside many local machines.

A device found in an Okatie gas pump last month is only the second financial card skimmer found in the area in recent history, according to local law enforcement.

The first was discovered March 10 by the manager of Loop Mart Exxon in Yemassee, according to a Jasper County Sheriff's Office report. An inspector found a similar device March 31 in a pump at the Callawassie General Store Exxon on S.C. 170, the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office said.

The Port Royal Police Department also dealt with skimmers many years ago, but not since, Maj. Ron Wekenmann said.

Both the illegal devices found last month turned up during routine checks.

Gas stations and inspectors use a service key to open the portion of the pump that holds the card reader and receipt paper, said Nickey Maxey, owner of Bluffton's Ultimate Car Wash and Shell station.

Most keys will open most pumps, Maxey added.

That's how the device was placed inside the Okatie pump, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office.

A machine that's been tampered with will be immediately obvious to whoever opens it up for maintenance, Maxey said.

Customers, though, would have no way of knowing the device is inside, Beaufort County Sheriff's Capt. Bob Bromage said.

The skimmers steal the information while allowing customers to still use their cards, he said.

"Consumers can have no idea this is going on until they find 30 or 40 transactions on their checking account," he said.

Managers at both Exxon stations declined to comment on Tuesday.

However, other local gas station managers said they require checks of their pumps every one to two days to make sure receipt paper doesn't run low.

After the inspector found the device in Okatie, the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office urged gas station owners to be vigilant in checking their equipment. The agency also contacted the U.S. Secret Service, which investigates credit card fraud. The Sheriff's Office is also analyzing the lone device found in Beaufort County device to determine when it was placed in the pump.

The Sheriff's Office will also review video footage from the station in an attempt to identify a suspect, Bromage said.

He said no other skimmers have been found, though the practice is far more common in other areas.

Last week, Florida's agriculture commissioner announced that a sweep of more than 6,000 gas stations across the state turned up skimmers in 81 locations, according to the Associated Press.

The devices can also be placed inside ATMs.

In January, two men pleaded guilty in federal court in Greenville to compromising nearly 300 credit or debit cards with an ATM skimming device, according to the Greenville News. SunTrust Bank lost more than $8,000 in the scam.

Bromage said it may be difficult to pin down the source of the local device.

He says aside from tracking charges online, consumers can also minimize their risk by choosing the credit-card feature.

That option doesn't require a PIN, which is just one more thing a skimmer can steal.

"The less information you're entering, the safer," Bromage said.

Follow reporter Rebecca Lurye on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Rebecca.

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• Financial card-skimming device found at Callawassie gas station , April 27, 2015

This story was originally published April 28, 2015 at 5:18 PM with the headline "Gas buyers beware: Card skimmer in pump was second device found in Beaufort, Jasper counties in March."