Sheriff's office: Skimmers active in 3 counties

Reports of credit and debit card skimmer fraud have climbed dramatically in Highlands County, sheriff's spokeswoman Nell Hays said Friday.

Hays said the sheriff's office has taken 126 reports of such fraud from people in Highlands County, including 46 reports alone Friday from a credit card company, Hays said.

"In addition, the Sebring Police Department has added four reports with a total of approximately $2,100 in losses," Hays said.

Roughly 150 people in Highlands County, Hays estimated, have been affected by the skimming, which involves identity thieves using devices to steal card information at gas pumps and from card readers inside stores.

Andrea Johnston of Sebring said information was skimmed when she used husband Jack French's card recently inside a gas station in Avon Park.

"We got lucky. Heartland National Bank caught it before anything was charged to our account," Johnston added. "It's scary."

Losses of more than $30,000 have been reported so far. That doesn't include amounts from thefts reported Friday, or possible losses at businesses in Avon Park and Lake Placid.

Skimming is also happening in Polk and Osceola counties, Hays said.

On Thursday, Detective Sgt. Brian Kramer, Detective Hank Smith and Deputy David Lightsey of the Highlands County Sheriff's Office met in Winter Haven with representatives from the Polk County Sheriff's Office, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the U.S. Secret Service, Hays said.

"At that meeting it was determined that only one skimming device was actually recovered and it was not from Highlands County. In all, it is estimated that the total claims will exceed $200,000."

The investigation, Hays added, "will be a joint operation between the several sheriffs' offices, FDLE and the Secret Service."

"Due to the amount of the loss and the span of the crimes, we will be attempting to seek federal prosecution," Kramer said.

Investigators are trying to identify those who are capturing the card numbers, as well as "the manufacturing of fraudulent cards and the use of those cards at various locations across Central Florida," Hays said.

Anyone with information about skimming or other fraud can contact Heartland Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-8477 or www.heartlandcrimestoppers.com.

Callers will remain anonymous and might be eligible for a cash reward.