They're small, hard to see, and easy for crooks to install on most gas pumps.
We're talking about card skimmers that steal your personal information and they're popping back up in Mid-Michigan again.
Vicki Burr goes out of her way to fill up at the Marathon gas station on Hamilton Road in Okemos.
Burr says she feels comfortable paying with a credit card there.
“You really have to be aware of what’s going on around you,” said Burr. “Or you’re the one that’s going to get scammed.”
Since 2015 when skimmers were first discovered in our state, 82 have been found.
Three skimmers were just recently found at Mugg and Bopps on 763 South Michigan Avenue in Howell. Two others at a Mugg and Bopps location at 201 S. Clinton Street in Stockbridge.
“What we see mostly is that skimmers tend to be on the outsides, the ones that don't have that direct line of sight,” said Jennifer Holton, Director of Communications with the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Senate Bill 415 is legislation recently introduced in the senate. It would require gas station owners across the state to take extra precautions at the pump to help prevent your personal information from being stolen.
It's all ahead of federal regulations coming down soon that will requiring stations to put a plan into place to protect customers.
The proposed bill requires stations to use security tape, change out locks, or add new equipment like a chip reader.
At the Hamilton Road Marathon station, pumps are checked and are watched very closely by staff.
“We always have people that come out and greet every customer,” said Chris Parrish, owner of the Hamilton Road Marathan gas station. “It would be very difficult for anybody to be able to install a skimmer here.”
It's important to keep your eyes peeled for any type of suspicious activity at pump because you never know when you could be a crooks next victim.
“It can happen to anybody, our information is so vulnerable,” said Burr.
You can avoid skimmers all together by just heading inside a gas station to pay.
The Department of Agriculture has posted a video online of how they inspect pumps and show you what a skimmer looks like. Click here to see that video.
