Credit card skimmers at gas pumps are an even bigger threat

This week, Tomball police say two men were caught on surveillance video installing credit card skimmers on gas pumps at a Valero station. Nationwide, nearly a quarter of all drivers believe they were victims of card skimming in the past twelve months.

Ted Rossman at creditcards.com says card skimming will be an issue for at least another year.

"Back in 2015 most retailers had to upgrade their terminals to accept the more secure chip cards. Gas stations got an exemption until October of 2020."

Rossman says if you see something fishy, move to another pump.

"If you're especially concerned about this you might also consider paying inside at the gas station/convenience store."

Rossman says fake devices should be easy to spot.

"Maybe wiggle it around a little bit, see if anything looks tampered with. When we talk about skimming what that really involves is a crook is going to open that up and put, basically, a fake device in there that's going to read the magnetic stripe on your card."

In a survey, 51% of drivers say they've changed the way they pay at the pump because of skimmers.


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