Police issue warning about skimming device found at local gas station

BELLEVUE, Pa. — Bellevue police are warning residents about a credit card skimming device found at a gas station.

Investigators said the internal skimmer device was found at the US Gas Station on Ohio River Boulevard.

When a customer came into the station and told owner Harblinder Singh the pump wasn’t reading a card, he went outside to investigate.

Singh opened up the gas pump found the device inside. It was a skimmer that could have read the customer’s personal banking information.

"I certainly got nervous and I thought, 'This device is taking from my pumps,' and without thinking, I took it out quickly with my hand so they can look for fingerprints," he said.

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Investigators told Channel 11 it is not unusual to see these types of skimmers in Allegheny County, but it is the first one in Bellevue.

"It used to be that they would put it on top of where your credit card would go in and that's what everyone got to looking for," said Sgt. Nick McGaughegy of the Bellevue Police Department. "Now they go over and above and get actually get a key and open up the gas pump and and plug it on the inside so you can't see."

Singh says he’s concerned about his customers and doesn’t understand why someone would target his business.

"The people who do that stuff, rob the stores, the banks and those people, they can work. It's easier to work than robbing the stores or stealing someone's things," he said.

Singh is in the process of changing his locks.

"Prepay if you can," McGaughegy said. "It's always better to go inside than pay at a pump."

Investigators are urging anyone who may have purchased gas from the location in recent weeks, especially if your card didn’t work at the pump, to alert their bank or credit card company.

If you see a credit card device that has been tampered with, contact police.

Cox Media Group