KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) -A new warning, centering on a way for scammers to steal your credit card information, now centers on what has been known in the past as the safest way to pay.

The Knox County Sheriffs Office arrested 11 people this week, accused of stealing over $20,000 from people who used the payment method, which has customers “tap” their phone or card, at POS systems.

“I guess with the skimming, this tap to pay, you know, it’s like any other device where you run a credit card through where you can put a device on top of it, a skimmer, to get the information. Apparently that can be done on tap to pay as well, so you really have to be careful where you’re using your car,” Greater East Tennessee’s Better Business Bureau CEO Tony Binkley said.

Knoxville-area businesses said these types of fraud are things they monitor for; now its just another thing they have to worry about.

“Heading down here to Vol Market, we barely have technology to take a card, let alone take all your money out of your bank account,” Corey Amyx said.

Amyx works at Vol Market in Knoxville. He said moving forward, they will be paying closer attention to their card readers. Amyx said he tries to stay as old fashioned as possible to avoid being scammed.

“I’m always careful, that’s why I like paying with cash, you know, go to the ATM, get some cash out,” Amyx said.

With these busts, KCSO said it had become the first agency in the country to arrest people for this type of fraud.

“From what I understand, this may be one of the first or earliest arrests of this type of situation in the country,” Binkley said.

The BBB said paying attention helps; only give your card to trusted sources.

“Don’t give your card to people you don’t know or trust. I mean, if you’re in a restaurant somewhere, I think it’s safe to use your credit card. In a business, it’s safe to use your credit card,” Binkley said. “If somebody comes up to you on the street and wants a donation for something or wants this and it’s tap to pay, you know you have to be a little weary of that and that’s unfortunate that that’s the world we live in today.”

Story once again is courtesy of our news partner, WVLT