The Nicholasville Police Department is urging caution when using credit cards due to reports of potential skimming in the area.

Reports over the weekend from area consumers with fraudulent credit card charges have led to an ongoing investigation into the skimming case. Locations of occurrence have not been released.

Credit card skimming occurs when perpetrators attach devices to card swipe mechanisms. Data from the card that is stored in its magnetic strip is copied by the device, and thieves are able to use the data to make charges.

According to authorities, today’s Bluetooth technology is making the crime easier to commit by making information harder to conceal.

Authorities are encouraging everyone who swiped credit cards to make purchases recently to review the transactions and report any fraud to law enforcement and not just to their financial institution.