The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office issued a warning at the  to be aware of some instances where thieves were installing devices at gas stations to read and steal your information off credit cards. Authorities across the country are generally seeing an increase in this fraudulent activity since gas stations will likely be one of the last to implement the latest in card security. The thieves typically will install a device that will record key personal information off your card as you slide it in and out of the reader at the pump. They will then return at a later date and retrieve the device with your information and that of many others. Detecting these devices is getting harder as thieves get more sophisticated.

Here are five basic tips to help you avoid getting caught in this trap:

1. Check the Security Seals on the machine. Are they torn, voided, missing? These seals have been put in place to show when the pump has been tampered with.