Beware Of Gas Pump Credit Card Fraud.

Gas Pump Credit Card Fraud – Empties Your Bank Account When You Fill Your Tank.

Pay at the pump.

What could be more convenient?

No trudge to the kiosk to wait in line – just use your card to pay and drive away, done and dusted.

Long gone are the days when you stayed in your vehicle while the
attendant pumped the gas, sometimes with a smile and a little friendly conversation too.

He washed the windshield for you and even offered to check your oil and tire pressures.

You paid cash always, you had no choice as there were no credit or debit cards, no danger back then of gas pump credit card fraud.

These days you need to be a little careful when paying for gas with your card.

Beware Of Gas Pump Skimming.

Thieves install electronic skimming devices to the outside of gas pumps in the same way they install them at ATM’s.

These devices fit over the card slot so when you swipe your card
the identity thieves collect your data. Installed correctly these
devices can be near undetectable.

To get your personal identification number, hidden miniature cameras
are installed and trained on the keypad. The images are then matched with
the stolen data.

Another way the crooks get your PIN is by affixing a working replica keypad on top of the real one.

When you punch in your number, the real keypad operates in the
normal way but at the same time the false keypad sends your PIN to the
identity fraudsters by wireless signal.

Yet another way for the thieves to get your PIN is by the non
technical method known as ‘shoulder surfing’. Somebody simply hangs
around the gas pump and looks over your shoulder when you enter the
number.

But now they have new ways of committing gas pump card fraud.

Identity Thieves are getting inside the pumps.

The fraudsters simply open up the gas pump and attach to exposed wiring an electronic device that captures cardholder information.

How do the thieves get into the pumps?

Gas station staff and
maintenance technicians need to gain access to the interior of the gas
pumps, the access flaps are fitted with locks.

Old gas pumps. Long gone are the days when you stayed in your vehicle while the attendant pumped the gas. You paid cash, no choice as there were no credit or debit cards.

Here’s a shocking fact. Whole batches of pumps were made with access flaps that shared common keys.

This was to make routine maintenance tasks simpler, the
technician only need carry one key to service many pumps. Unfortunately
it also makes things all to easy for identity thieves if they get hold
of one of the keys.

It is believed that the gas pump suppliers are rectifying the situation.

There is more bad news. It is reported that thieves can carry out gas pump credit card fraud without even touching the pump.

Some gas stations use wireless technology to send credit card data from the gas pump to their main computer.

Apparently thieves can obtain devices that can intercept that data.

All they have to do is identify such gas stations, perhaps by the
presence of a wi-fi antenna and maybe park up close by and download the
card data to a laptop. Or, secretly hide a device within the signal
path, but not necessarily within the pump.

A few days later they retrieve the device and they have all the data they need, perhaps from hundreds of transactions.

How To Reduce The Risk Of Gas Pump Credit Card Fraud.

• You may want to consider not paying at the pump but paying the attendant where possible.
• If you must use a pay pump to get your fuel, use ones where the gas station has security cameras trained on the pumps.
• Avoid using the pumps furthest away from the
  attendant or kiosk. The closer a pump is to the kiosk the less likely it
  is to have been tampered with.

• Notice anything suspicious about the pay pump?
  Don’t use it. If the card reader or the keypad look unusual, or are in
  any way different from the readers or keypads on the other pumps this
  should raise a red flag.

• Suspicious people hanging around the pumps? Get your gas elsewhere.
• Use a credit card not a debit card.
• Keep an eye on your credit and debit card
  statements. As soon as you spot a suspect transaction, no matter how
  large or small, report it. The sooner you report fraudulent
  transactions from gas pump skimming the greater chance you have of not
  being held responsible.

Surveillance for Security
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Identity Theft Prevention
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Gas Pump Credit Card Fraud.

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