A release from Jefferson Police Department in South Dakota says a credit card skimmer was located on a gas pump at a local gas station on Wednesday, May 31st.

This is not the first credit card skimmer found in the Siouxland. Skimmers have been popping up across the country and the Siouxland area in recent years. They have been found on ATM's and Gas Pumps.

ATM skimmers can be detected if customers are careful and look for devices that snap over top the existing card slot and/or keypad. It's advised to cover your hand when typing in your pin number, even when nobody is around because oftentimes cameras are placed on the ATMS along with the skimmer to record your pin when you enter it. ATM skimmers are significantly more dangerous because when a scammer gets your debit card information they drain your bank account and it's much harder to recover that money once it's gone.

For gas pumps, the devices are generally not visible and not detectable because they are placed inside the machine. Station owners are advised to check pumps regularly and put dated security seals over the doors so that customers can be sure the pump hasn't been tampered with and know the last time it was visually inspected by the station. Skimmers are often put on pumps that are out of view of cameras and station attendants, the best advice to not get "skimmed" at a gas pump is to not pay at the pump.

Jefferson Police say the skimmer was found at the Conoco station. It's unknown how long the device has been there but we have discovered comments of fraudulent charges as far back as March. Police are advising people to watch their bank statements and notify law enforcement of suspicious activity.