LYNDON (KSNT) - Police in Lyndon are warning people to check with their banks after card skimmers were found in the local area.
KSNT 27 News reached out to the City of Lyndon and the Lyndon Police Department (LPD) following an announcement on social media about card skimmers. Lyndon Police Chief David Forkenbrock told 27 News two card skimmers have been recovered so far from local businesses.
This poses a financial threat to residents whose credit card information may now be in the hands of thieves.
"I'm in the process of working with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, I'm waiting on information from them... see if I can pull information from the two skimmers that have been located," Forkenbrock said.
The Kansas Department of Agriculture (KDA) describes credit card skimmers as electronic devices which capture credit or debit card information from card readers whenever a card is swiped. The KDA recommends businesses put programs in place to deter criminals from installing the skimmers, focus on detecting skimmers if they have been installed and train employees on how to respond if suspicious devices are found.
Forkenbrock said people with compromised cards are reporting that an individual or a group are now using their information to make purchases from out of the greater Kansas City area. Both of the card skimmers recovered so far were found by law enforcement within the past two months.
The LPD is continuing to check with other local businesses to see if any other card readers contain skimmers. However, this is a long and difficult operation.
"It's an ongoing investigation," Forkenbrock said. "It definitely has a process... that process is not a short process because I'll have to take what I have and get the information off the skimmer and start matching reports I have to what I've been able to take from those skimmers."
Forkenbrock encourages locals to reach out to police if they have any information about this issue. City officials are asking people whose cards have been compromised by card skimmers to get in touch with law enforcement by calling the LPD at 785-828-3146 and selecting option 4. You can learn more about how credit card skimmers work by visiting the KDA's website.
"My hope is we can find the group or individual, possibly narrow down where that information is going to once somebody puts their card reader into a gas pump or business," Forkenbrock said.
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