Police are warning business owners to be aware of suspicious activity.
Police said they had received reports of two males in shops in the South Devon area acting suspiciously.
The males had entered a shop and purchased high-value amounts of tobacco and alcohol.
One male then took control of the card payment machine and selected "card not present", making an entry into the card reader using the digits to make a payment.
All males appear to be mid-30s and possibly with a South East or London Accent.
A Spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall police said: "Please be wary of this type of activity and inform staff.
"Please do not let people take control of card machines and be wary of any possible distraction attempts."
If you have any information contact the police via their website:https://tinyurl.com/522wx86t or by calling 101 and quoting 798 on 7 May.