Lower Burrell police were called to the Community Supermarket on Leechburg Road on June 28 after reports of an attempted card skimming incident.

George Sears, Community Market general manager, said an employee noticed the skimmer just 15 minutes after the device was planted, before anyone’s information could be compromised. Sears emphasized routine checks around the store are completed three times a day to ensure everything is working properly.

Lower Burrell Detective Steve Aulerich said the card skimmer was loosely attached to the point of sale (POS) machine and wouldn’t function properly, which is how the scam was identified.

Two men were arrested in relation to this incident as well as several others, including a Scott Township Shop ’n Save.

Scott Township police arrived at the Shop ’n Save grocery store on Washington Pike around 3:40 p.m. July 9 after a cashier noticed a card skimmer was placed on the card reader at a register.

A store manager submitted the device and security camera footage for evidence. Footage from traffic cameras at the entrance of the shopping plaza showed a vehicle in the area of the Shop ’n Save from about 5 to 5:30 p.m. June 28, the day the card reader devices were placed, according to store surveillance footage.

Police ran photos of the perpetrators and the vehicle information through SPIN, a communication tool that connects police departments in the area.

Lower Burrell police were able to clarify, using security in the surrounding area and surveillance footage from the Community Market, that the vehicle wasn’t registered to either suspect.

Bellevue police saw two men sitting in the suspected vehicle near the Bellevue Borough Building around 3:40 p.m. July 18.

According to police, the first man told police his name is David Lechner. The second said his name is Thomas Fuchs.

The first man later told police his name is Alexandru Dumitrescu, 39, from Romania. Fuchs held to his original name and told police he is 34.

Dumitrescu told police he was hired by Fuchs as a driver. Police said he added that a separate crew would return to the businesses they’d hit to retrieve the collected information. Dumitrescu confirmed he and Fuchs were shown in the Scott Township Shop’n Save surveillance footage.

The men were arraigned by District Judge Kim Hoots on Saturday. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Aug. 1 before District Judge Craig Stephens.

They were held in Allegheny County Jail in Pittsburgh until Sunday, July 21.

Penn Hills police Chief Ronald Como said an investigation is being conducted to identify if a similar incident occurring in the neighborhood can be attributed to card skimming as well.

On avoiding falling victim to card skimming, Como suggested, though it can be difficult to identify one given there are different types of skimmers, to “grab onto it like a regular card reader to see if it comes off.”

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