Credit Card Fraud at the Gas Pump

We all know that gas prices are on the rise and we also all know that there are good reasons to be concerned about the risk of identity theft. But did you know that these two problems may go hand-in-hand? There is a credit card fraud scam that seems to be increasingly common across the nation in which thieves are using devices attached to gas pumps to skim credit card information from people who are purchasing gas. The devices are small and hard to detect and are particularly likely to go unnoticed by customers at the gas station who are going to be more concerned about the price of gas at the pump than they are about checking for signs of credit card fraud.

The way that it works is that thieves will attach a small device to the credit card reader on a gas station pump. The device may either be on the inside of the card reader or it may be on the outside but painted to match the pump itself so that it goes undetected. The device serves the purpose of reading credit card information off of the card. The thieves can then use that information to open up new credit cards in the name of the individual whose information they skimmed at the pump. Those new credit cards are used to rack up big bills under the identity of the person whose information was stolen at the gas station.

The problem does not yet appear to warrant national warning but there is an investigation happening regarding the issue because this type of theft seems to be spreading. There are five states in particular where reports of credit card skimming at the gas pump have been common: California, Nevada and Washington on the West Coast and Pennsylvania and Delaware over on the East Coast. Although these states are the ones where consumers should be most vigilant, it is important for gas customers across the nation to be aware of the possibility of this type of threat. Knowing that this is a risk is the first step towards protecting yourself from becoming a victim.

There isn’t a whole lot that you can do to prevent yourself from becoming a victim of this type of identity theft but there are some precautions that you can take which will limit the likelihood of becoming a victim of this problem. The first is to become aware of the way that a gas station pump card reader should look so that you can identify the small devices that may be placed on the outside of the gas pump. The second is to stay on top of your credit report information so that you can note problems as soon as they occur in case you do become a victim of gas station credit card skimming. And the third is to consider paying with cash or a prepaid credit card instead of your normal credit card when purchasing gas. These precautions should serve to protect you from harm as the fraud scheme is being investigated.