OKEMOS - Jennifer Holton, Director of Communications for the Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development, says two more skimming devices were found just two weeks ago, one in Portage and one in Paw Paw.

That comes to a total of 16 skimming devices found in Michigan gas pumps. Holton says checking for skimmers has become part of their routine when performing Weights and Measures inspections.

"There's about 100,000 pumps in the State of Michigan and we've checked well over 6,000 pumps thus far," said Holton. "What we're seeing primarily is that these skimming devices are being installed on the outside pumps, ones that aren't visible to the attendant."

While no skimmers have been found in Meridian Township, Lt. Greg Frenger says it's still easy for perpetrators to do since most gas pumps are not closely monitored by an attendant.

"When they happen, they obviously are trying to use a device such as a gas pump that's going to have a lot of activity so they can obtain multiple credit cards and PIN numbers."

However, Marathon Gas Station off Hamilton Road in Okemos is not taking any chances when it comes to their customers' protection.

"What we do everyday in the mornings when we open up, we come out here and we open up each and every individual pump and check for receipt paper. When we check for receipt paper, we can check on the back and see if any skimmer had been planted in there," said Chris Parrish, Marathon owner.

And if daily checks weren't enough to gain their customers' trust...

"We have at least one guy at all times from open to close out here watching (the pumps)," said Parrish. "Sometimes there's multiple guys. A couple days during the week, I have at least two guys. I got a guy watching from the cash register and I got a guy out here greeting people."

But that's not the only thing stopping criminals from going there. Parrish says their newer pumps make it rather difficult for criminals to break into because of their special double-lock system. Each lock requires a different key, both of which are harder to duplicate than a typical house key.

Parrish says they value their customers and will do just about anything to keep their trust and respect. For example, every morning someone from their station will go and make sure an elderly neighbor gets their newspaper.