Credit card skimmer found on pump at Hillsdale store a first ever for county

Last week the Rappahannock County Sheriff’s Office issued a press release about the discovery of a skimming device on a gas pump at Hillsdale Country Store on Route 211.

Sheriff Connie Compton said this is the first time in her memory that a skimming device has ever been found in Rappahannock County. No other gas stations appear to have been affected.

Skimming devices are small electronics that are sometimes illegally installed by fraudsters on credit card scanners at gas pumps and ATM machines to surreptitiously capture credit card information.

During a routine pump inspection, an inspector found the skimming device on the credit card scanner at Hillsdale Country Store’s pump #4. Pumps generally undergo inspection only about once a year, so there is little way of knowing how long the skimmer had been there. “It could have just been put on there or it could have been on there for months, I’m not sure,” said Compton.

She advises anyone who has purchased gasoline at the Hillsdale store to “keep an eye on their bank accounts” and immediately report any suspicious activity to their banking institution immediately.

“[If anyone sees] any unusual activity they definitely need to report that because they’re numbers could have been obtained and who knows where they are,” Compton said.

Lori-Anne Moss, a clerk at Hillsdale, said that as of this past Tuesday she is not aware that any customers have discovered fraudulent activity on their personal banking accounts.

Questions and information regarding the incident should be directed to the Rappahannock County Sheriff’s Office at (540) 675-5300.