Contra Costa Probationer Caught With Card Skimmer In North Bay: Police

BAY AREA, CA — A person on probation in Contra Costa County was caught with a suspected credit card skimmer Wednesday night at a North Bay gas station, authorities said.

The probationer was at Marin Gas in Larkspur when officers with the Central Marin Police Authority were alerted to suspicious activity.

"Our jurisdiction, and the Bay Area in general, has dealt with gas station 'skimming'— an illegal practice used by identity thieves to capture credit card information from a cardholder surreptitiously," Central Marin Police Authority said in a news release. "Many of our citizens, as well as a Central Marin police officer, have been victims of this crime in the last few months."

Officers arrived at the gas station at 600 Magnolia Ave. and contacted the suspect who was shown to be on active probation out of Contra Costa County for theft-related crimes.

Further investigation and a probation search revealed the suspect had numerous gift cards, burglary tools and a scanning device that can be used to obtain information from any card with a magnetic strip, including credit cards, Central Marin police said.

Officers also four large containers of gasoline in the bed of the suspect’s truck, which was towed and stored as evidence, police said.

The suspect, whose name was disclosed, was arrested and booked into Marin County jail on suspicion of grand theft, possession of burglary tools, and unlawful possession of a scanning device.

The arresting officer and Central Marin police detectives will continue to investigate and hopefully identify those victimized by the suspect.