When was the last time you paid at the pump while getting gas?
If you’re like most Americans, this is probably your preferred method. While it may seem more convenient to pay at the pump, it could be a path for identity fraud theft. Illegal devices which capture financial data are being found inside gas pumps and ATM’s all over the country. This criminal ID theft practice is referred to as skimming, and is on the verge of becoming a very widespread problem. These devices look just like real card scanners and may be installed on either the inside or outside of gas pumps and ATM machines.
While the card swipe will enable you to buy goods or gas, these fraudulent gadgets also steal your credit, pin and debit card numbers and transmit them to criminals. This information is used to create fake cards that are either sold on the black market, or used to drain the victim’s bank account.
Until recently, U.S. gas pump skimmers occurred only in rare and isolated cases for identity fraud theft. Thanks to Bluetooth technology, criminals can now retrieve the data remotely rather than risk getting caught by physically retrieving their device. The data is sent via Bluetooth from the card-swiper to a device as common as a phone, planted by criminals near the skimming site.
Due to the level of sophistication of these devices, and the obvious funding required to create such technology, law enforcement officials suspect highly-organized world-wide crime rings. Authorities estimate that millions of dollars are stolen each year nationwide using gas pump and ATM skimmers.
Identity Fraud Theft Protection
