MEBANE, N.C. — Kenneth Chambers says he and his wife spent most of their Friday at Duke Medical Center when they decided to check their bank account.
"I heard her say 'this is not right, something's going on,'" said Kenny.
His wife told him their account showed transactions made in Las Vegas, Nevada and Goldsboro, which weren't made by him. His card was still in his pocket at the time.
"I said 'oh my god they took all our money,'" said Diane Chambers, 'There was hardly any left in our checking account and I’m like I’m about to have a heart attack."
Kenneth says one of the last purchases he made was at a gas station, where he thinks his information may have been stolen.
Mebane Police say they haven't had any reports of credit card skimmers in quite a while. However, if you come in contact with a skimmer or believe that one may exist on a gas pump, police say report it immediately.
Here's what police say you can do to help protect yourself from any potential skimmers you may come across:
- Look for tamper-proof gas pumps
- Wiggle the card scanner to see if its loose. If it is, police say there may be a skimmer attached.
- Contact your bank immediately if unauthorized charges are made
- Compare the card reader and pin pad to other nearby pumps to see if there are any irregularities.
- Do not use your pin pad at the pump
- Use a mobile device to search for Bluetooth signals near the pump
- If you have any suspicions, avoid the gas pump altogether.
If your information is compromised, police advise you to contact your bank immediately. Make sure you also check your credit report and cancel your card so thieves can't continue to use that information.
Diane says they went to the bank immediately, and they are helping to handle the situation.
"We went to the bank and they took his debit card and cut it up and said they got to order him a new one, and they’re going to get us our money back but it’s going to take several days to do that," said Diane.
Kenneth says he just wants others to be aware.
"Normally, as a rule, I do pay attention to the pumps and wiggle," said Kenneth.