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NATCHEZ —At least five or six incidents of card fraud have been reported locally over the past two days that seem to be linked to skimming devices at some local grocery stores, Natchez Police Chief Cal Green said.

Skimming occurs when devices are illegally installed on or inside point-of-sale terminals, ATMs or fuel pumps to capture card data and record cardholders’ PIN entries.

Green cautioned locals to change their PIN codes or access codes and add two-point authentication to cards if applicable “to make them as safe as possible.”

“I know we’ve had two or three reports yesterday and at least two today,” she said, involving at least one debit card and three or four EBT cards. “These victims had anywhere from $200 or $400 stolen from them.”

Green said the investigation has been turned over to the state because Natchez was not the only community hit by these devices. She said these devices are usually held on by magnets and will fall off when shaken.

She advised locals to check their card balances and make a report of any suspicious activity.