DAVIE COUNTY, N.C. — Whether it's to the lake, the beach, or anywhere else, millions of people are expected to travel over the holiday weekend.
Some experts are predicting a record summer travel season.
Gas Buddy predicts 76% of Americans will take a road trip between Memorial and Labor Day.
Gassing up is just part of vacations, but drivers, beware: our cards may be at risk.
Look what investigators found inside a local gas pump. It's a card skimmer.
A TA Truck Stop gas station worker in Davie County said they noticed someone tampered with the pump seal.
They attached the card skimmer to it to steal credit card information.
The Davie County Sheriff's Office says this is the second recent incident at this gas station.
"Both of them were found inside the reader," said Chief Deputy Brian Jacobs. "When they were doing the inspection, they noticed that the sticker or the piece of tape had been broken, and that was what the first sign was."
Because of the situation in Davie County, it's important to know what to do before you get to the gas station.
Better Business Bureau's Lechelle Yates said to first look at which pump is closest to the store before you park your car. Always go for the one right in front of the store.
Police say thieves tend to pick the pumps on the outside, where they are less likely to get caught.
Next, before you go to pay anywhere grab that card reader, and shake it back and forth to see if there's a skimmer that's been placed on top. If anything is loose, or makes a sound when you shake it, that's when you should be concerned.
Be sure to check your phone's Bluetooth. If you see a long string of numbers or letters trying to connect, it's not a good sign.
Also, check the tape. As technology gets better, crooks do, too. The newest form of skimmer actually goes inside the gas pumps instead of on top of the card reader, like what happened in Davie County. This makes them so much harder to find.
"You want to look for stickers on the keyhole on the pump, but you want to make sure that the logo on the sticker matches the logo of the gas station because you can actually buy these stickers online," said Yates.
Lastly, be smart about how you pay. Use credit cards, cash, or tap to pay.
One of the things you definitely want to do when you're shopping is use your credit card and not your debit card," said Yates. "Credit cards are very good at letting you know if they detect suspicious activity, and they'll issue a fraud alert. Also, think about it this way. It is your credit card company's money that's being tied up if there's an issue. If it's your debit card, it is your money that's tied up. The biggest methods to pay are using a chip reader to use the tap and pay method or using a mobile payment method like Apple Pay, or you can always use cash.
Anyone who notices this happening or has information is encouraged to ask the gas station workers questions and report them to law enforcement.
"This day and age, we always do have to be on the lookout; scammers are out there every day looking to take advantage of us," said Yates.
MORE WAYS TO GET WFMY NEWS 2
Subscribe to our daily newsletter, Let’s Get 2 It!
Download the WFMY News 2 APP from your Apple or Google Play store.
ADD THE WFMY+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for WFMY.
Amazon Fire TV: Search for WFMY to find the free app to add to your account. You can also add the app directly to your Fire TV through your Amazon account.
SUBSCRIBE | https://bit.ly/2vsX74I
Follow us:
Facebook | https://bit.ly/3326pAY
Twitter | https://bit.ly/2vIPZkT
Instagram | https://bit.ly/39Ghs5a
Download the WFMY News 2 app:
►Text the word APP to 336-379-5775
►For iPhone | https://apple.co/3aaH6iM
►For Android | https://bit.ly/3aea9Sv