Safety Tips & Crime Reports

Crime Tip of the Month: How To Spot a Gas Pump Skimmer

• According to the FBI: these gas station attacks cost financial institutions and consumers more than $1 billion each year. Here’s how you can protect yourself.
• How Does It Work: Criminal installs skimmer on gas pump. They usually wait until station is unattended or chosen location with no cameras. The small device is attached to the point of sales system and designed to be undectable. The skimmer reads the credit card stripe and gathers the sensitive info.
• Spot the Skimmer: While some gas pump skimmers are undetectable, others may show
  signs that the device does not belong. First, jiggle the credit card reader a little. Does it
  move, or seem like it doesn’t quite fit into place? If it does, don’t use it and notify the
  management. Other physical indicators include being oversized, sticking out strangely, cracks or damage to the reader or having arrows or lines that don’t align with the pump. You can also compare the card reader on your pump to those on neighboring pumps. Do they look the same? Despite careful inspection, some skimmers are impossible to spot as they connect to the credit card reader internally and aren’t visible from the outside of the pump.
• How to Protect Your Information: Here’s what you can do:
  – Remember to inspect the card reader using the tips above.
   – Pay with credit, not debit, if you can.
   – Pay with a chip or contact-free method, such as Apple Pay. Gas pump skimmers can only read the magnetic strip on your card.
   – Avoid using your PIN or enter it discreetly. Some criminals install hidden cameras to catch this information.
   – Pay at the pump closest to the building. Because it’s often being watched by  attendants inside, it’s harder for criminals to tamper with.
   – Set your payment cards to notify you for purchases over a certain amount.  If you believe you have been the victim of a gas station scam, immediately report it to your
  financial institution.