Crooks fuel up on your credit

Gas stations see rise in high-tech card skimmers

The number of credit card skimmers being found at Florida gas stations has skyrocketed — and the devices have become increasingly sophisticated.

New technology has allowed criminals to install the devices inside gas pumps and retrieve information remotely on their cellphones, said Aaron Keller of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

“It’s kind of a rat race,” he said. “We’re trying to stay one step ahead.”

Most consumers find out they’ve been hit when credit card companies freeze their accounts. And they are finding out more frequently.

State inspectors are on pace this year to find the skimmers in about 1,000 gas pumps across Florida. That’s up from more than 650

pumps last year and nearly 220 in 2016.

Already this year, some 200 skimmers have been found in South Florida. Broward had 112, Palm Beach had 54 and Miami-Dade had 18.

Most skimming scams are part of an organized criminal enterprise, Keller said. Once your credit card information is obtained, duplicate cards are made and criminals use them or sell them.

Thieves now face up to 15 years in prison if caught using skimmers. But it hasn’t stopped them from coming up with new ways to get your information.

They used to attach falsefront skimmers to credit card slots on the outside of the gas pump. That evolved to breaking into the pumps, installing skimmers and retrieving them later. Then skimmers were placed inside the gas pump and the data downloaded to criminals parked nearby.

“The latest iteration of that is we’re finding cellular-enabled skimmers that text the stolen credit card information live, in real time, as it’s stolen,” Keller said. “So they wouldn’t have to break back in [the pump].”

Gas stations were required to have credit card chip readers as a safer alternative to swiping the cards’ magnetic strips, but the 2017 deadline for installation has been extended to 2020.

Some station owners cite technology issues and the expense of installing new chip-reading pumps for the delay.

Ned Bowman, executive director of the Florida Petroleum Marketers Association, said the deadline extension is more of a manpower issue.

“There’s not enough technicians in the field to do the replacements,” he said. “You’re talking about 28,000 to 40,000 [gas pumps] that need to be replaced.”

Bowman said more skimmers are being found because the industry, state inspectors and local law enforcement are combining efforts. Older pumps are more vulnerable, so oil companies are helping gas station owners pay to replace them.

“Overall, Florida has been very proactive,” Bowman said. “Everybody’s on the same page and working toward the same goal.”

So what can people do keep safe?

Pay with cash or a credit card inside the gas station instead of at the pump. Don’t use a debit card; criminals can tap your bank account with that information and debit cards don’t have the same protection against theft that credit cards provide.

If you’re in a hurry or prefer the convenience of paying at the pump, choose one within view of the gas station attendant. Criminals tend to install skimmers in pumps farther away.

Check the gas pump for signs of dents or damage from being pried open. Properly inspected pumps have a strip of security tape over the seam or a lock on the gas pump cabinet.

If the tape is torn or missing, that might be a warning sign. But gas stations are not required to have security tape if there are other security measures in place. Some pumps set off alarms; others shut down if they are opened improperly. The industry is also designing stronger security devices for pumps, Bowman said.

“A lot of [pump locks] have changed from a key to a higher-security key [and] pumps are being replaced because of the new credit card processing,” he said.

Tell the attendant if it appears that someone has tampered with a gas pump. If you find unfamiliar purchases on your credit card statement, call your bank or credit card issuer, and call the state’s consumer services hotline at 1-800-435-7352 or file a complaint online at FreshFromFlorida.com.

“We will send out an inspector as quickly as possible to get to that pump, remove that skimmer, and get a criminal investigation going,” Keller said.

Despite aggressive enforcement, he said thieves figure out more sophisticated security measures before long.

“It seems like as soon as they deploy a new technology, the criminals quickly find a way to subvert that,” Keller said.