Sgt. Paul Huffstutler serves with Jefferson County's Identity Theft Division within the Sheriff's department. 

Huffstutler says you can become a victim of skimming within a matter of seconds. And you'll never suspect a thing until that is, it's too late.

"White collar criminals are very polite and they're very disarming. They'll make you like them, and then forget them."

Skimming is a crime that's booming in Europe and rapidly spreading through North America.

In fact, Canada is now the skimming capital of the world.

Here's how it works: Say you're sitting at a restaurant and the bill comes, without thinking about it you set out your card to pay.

The card is swiped, not once but twice. The transaction and then the skim takes place using a pocket sized device which digitally reads and saves your cards information.