VANDALIA — Customers of a Vandalia bank are being alerted that criminals recently placed card skimmers on some local.

The First National Bank in Vandalia says that over the weekend, unauthorized charges in the Houston, Texas area began showing up on the debit cards of over 60 FNB customers and around a dozen non-customers.

Bank personnel determined a card skimmer was installed at FNB’s Eighth Street branch in Vandalia, as well as at two other non-FNB ATMs.

An investigation has so far revealed the data theft occurred on Christmas Eve. FNB says it has been working with the victims to make sure their funds are safe and secure.

A skimmer is a device secretly attached to the mouth of an ATM, gas pump or other card reader that allows the thief to download and store data from the user’s card.

After the criminals retrieve the skimmer they can then take the stolen data to create fake credit or debit cards and gain access to the customer’s funds.