Gas station catches possible skimmer thieves after hiring private investigator

The owner of the Elgin Country Store has been targeted so many times by skimmers that he hired a private investigator.

"Since this thing happened people don't want to come here because they were scared," said Vikash Chadda, the owner.

Chadda said his once quiet business was bombarded with calls nonstop about four months ago from customers.

"It was a lot; every day you have a couple people telling me this happened," said Chadda.

These calls were over customers saying their credit and debit cards had been compromised and the culprit was skimmers at his gas station.

"The people who work on the pumps, they came here looked at them and found a few," said Chadda.

For the country store, the problem wouldn't stop.

"We would go there look at the pumps, open them two or three times just to keep customers happy, to let them know we are working on it," said Chadda.

Running out of options, Chadda turned to a private investigator to see if they could get a handle on the issue.

"They started cracking down really hard in Austin so they (skimmers) are starting to move to the outskirts," said Gary Russell, a private investigator. 

It wasn't long into Russell's investigation when he came across a suspicious vehicle.

"The first thing I noticed was their license plate was covered with tape," said Russell.

He also said they were posted up at the pump for a considerable amount of time, their vehicle blocking the view of the pump. After confronting them, Russell said they took off.  

"They were traveling anywhere from 30 to 50 miles per hour, driving erratically," said Russell.

With the help of authorities, they were able to catch the suspects. "Assistant chief Taylor and his team with Elgin PD were able to locate the skimmer and other items," said Russell.

Chadda said he hopes these arrests will deter others from targeting his pumps.

So far, two arrests were made in the case. They were charged with unlawful use of a criminal instrument and criminal mischief. FOX 7 was asked not to release their names as there is an ongoing investigation with possibly more people involved.