Hey Lowcountry, here’s a handy high tech trick to detect ATM and gas pump skimmers

A North Carolina Police Department has issued a warning about ATM and gas pump skimmers. While such warnings are fairly ordinary, though, this department also advised of a handy way to detect them, WIS reports.

The secret lies in your phone’s Bluetooth settings, according to the Shelby Police Department, which said that skimmers can employ the technology. If a skimmer is using Bluetooth, then activating the connection on your phone should make it obvious, WIS reports.

If you activate Bluetooth on your phone and see a long series of numbers or letters listed as an available device, that might be evidence that a skimmer is active, according to WIS.

More traditional methods are also available to detect the presence of skimmers, reports WIS, such as tamper seals, which indicate if anyone has tried to gain access to a gas pump or ATM.

People finding a suspicious Bluetooth connection or a voided tamper seal are advised to tell the bank or business and call authorities, WIS reports.

This story was originally published October 15, 2017 at 11:05 AM with the headline "Hey Lowcountry, here’s a handy high tech trick to detect ATM and gas pump skimmers."