Credit card skimmer discovered inside Cotswold convenience store

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Secret Service is looking into more credit card skimmers in Charlotte -- not just on gas pumps or ATMs -- but inside stores at the checkout counter.

A skimmer may have been inside a Cotswold gas station for a month stealing customers’ information.

Customer Bobby Jones said he is always aware of his surroundings, but never looks for skimmers, especially inside a convenience store.

"Somebody could get you and you don't even know who's got you or how they've gotten you, until after the fact," Jones said.

[LINK: Debit Card Tips]

A skimmer was found inside the Circle K on Randolph Road. It was there between July 29 and Aug. 28.

Nancy Carter, a former Charlotte City Council member, said it shows the skimming problem is getting worse.

"It's invalid for a trusting citizen to think that these machines are not working,” Carter said. “It's an ordinary practice."

In November, card skimmers were discovered on keypads at two CVS pharmacies in Ballantyne.

[Card skimmers discovered inside two Ballantyne pharmacies]

One was on Rea Road and the other was on Conlan Circle, according to police reports.

At the time, detectives said attaching a reader can be as simple as distracting the clerk. Skimmers are difficult to detect, and so is using surveillance video to catch a culprit.

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Cox Media Group