Some area communities are dealing with a new kind of fraud. But, luckily, it hasn’t made it to Fayette County yet. The new fraud is called skimming and it has been an issue in both Effingham and Salem recently. Gas stations in both communities has been hit by someone who has opened up a gas pump with a master key and placed a flash drive onto the credit card reader capturing the credit card data. Then, those responsible return later to retrieve the flash drive and the captured numbers are then transferred to blank magnetic strips on credit cards the group is using to make purchases. Salem Police reported several individuals who had their numbers captured have now had purchases made on their accounts. Vandalia Police Chief Jeff Ray and Fayette County Sheriff Chris Smith both have said the crime has not yet made it into Fayette County and Vandalia at this time. But, with the crimes being so close to the area, people should be aware of the issue and for anyone using their credits cards at the pump to be watching their statements to make sure there are no unauthorized charges.