Skimmers are getting aggressive in an effort to beat EMV enabled sites. Since the majority of major retailers still are not taking EMV chip cards, the race is on for the bad guys to swoop in and steal consumer information.
This warning is especially important for gas station owners to heed, as an unprecedented amount of stores are being hit in regions that had never been before. According to one NBC news report, “Inspectors are now coming across multiple skimmers a week — not just in large cities, but in small towns.”
Southeast Petro has not been exempt from skimming fraud happening at their locations. The effects have been devastating to those stores that have been hit. Just recently one furious customer that had their data compromised took to Facebook to let all of her friends know which station was the culprit, and even accused the owner of planting the device to steal from their customers. These kinds of things spread like wildfire, and being proactive in your approach to protecting consumer information from fraud is critical in this industry.
Some immediate actions gas station owners should take are as follows:
- Buy security seals – use them, and inspect them DAILY. This includes seals for the outside card reader as well. Criminals can place ‘dummy’ card readers over your card reader to steal information.
- Inspect pumps DAILY for odd scratches or marks on the pumps, especially near the locks themselves. Check to make sure seals are still valid and if you see anything suspicious, open up the pump and do a detailed inspection.
- Invest in site specific locks like TuBar brand locks. Most pumps have locks that have a universal key that can be easily obtained by criminals online at a very low cost.
What to do if you suspect that a skimmer has been placed on or inside your pump:
- Bag dispensers immediately and take them offline if there is evidence of tam
pering. Do not tamper with the device if you find it.
- If you are not sure if it is a skimmer, contact a qualified service provider to check the pump for a skimmer. If found, contact local law enforcement but leave the skimmer in place. Take photos of the skimming device while it is connected and after it has been removed.
Be sure to handle customer concerns with care. As another story noted in one of Southeast Petro’s other EMV notices noted, a customer was brushed off by the attendant when questioned about security seals. This is not something that can be taken lightly, especially when it comes to your consumer’s trust. Without your consumers, you are out of business, so think about that next time someone comes to you with concern over their payment security.
For a full and complete list of the things you can do to prevent skimming at your gas station, and what to do if a skimmer is found, please go to our Skimming and Fraud Preventative Practices page to get deeper insight into this practice. This page also contains ordering information for security seals and other great tips for protecting your reputation.
