Card skimmers more savvy
This skimmer was placed inside the machine and collected data as it was sent from the machine’s credit card reader to the computer.
More credit card skimmers have been found on Florida gasoline pumps so far in 2018 than all of last year.
The Florida Department of Agriculture says it has found the theft devices at 689 stations, as station owners and law enforcement struggle to keep up with evolving technology and methods from the criminals who deploy them.
“The people doing this are quite sophisticated and quite motivated,” said Patrick Traynor, a University of Florida professor who studies the devices. “It’s hard to think of what consumers can do other than watching their [credit card] statements.”
It would have been impossible for consumers to detect hundreds of the skimmers found by state investigators because the devices were inserted inside pumps. The newest skimmers use remote technology that can send stolen credit or debit card numbers anywhere. The numbers are used to create counterfeit cards that criminals then load up with charges.
Even gas pumps with high-security locks designed to stop skimmers were infiltrated.
To avoid getting scammed, check your credit and debit card balances frequently. If you see bogus charges, call the card issuer immediately and tell them to remove the charges, cancel the card and issue a new one. You are not responsible to pay for the bogus charges.
Traynor, who trains polices departments and is trying to develop his own anti-skimming technology, said criminal rings scout gas stations to find weak points in security camera networks and the best times of day to install skimmers.
Credit card skimmers have been on the rise for years, but the number found in Florida spiked in 2017 as criminals started using the internal skimmers. That, paired with Bluetooth technology to transmit data, has made it safer to retrieve pilfered card numbers and pin codes. Early versions of skimmers had to be installed in card slots.
Some phone apps have been developed to try to detect malicious Bluetooth signals at the pump, but Traynor said those are hit or miss.
And the newest skimming devices use cellular signals and send data via text message across the country.
“They never even have to come back to the gas station,” Traynor said.
South Florida continues to be the epicenter of credit card skimming in Florida. Broward County accounted for more than a third of the cases, and Palm Beach and Miami-Dade were both among the top counties for skimmers found as well.
Gas stations owners are trying to fight back, said James Miller, a spokesman for the Florida Retail Federation.
“The state is doing everything they can; store owners are doing everything they can,” Miller said. “We tell them they should check their machines at least three times a day, and many are doing that. But it still happens.”