Photo By Keith Hayes | New applications for smart phones allow them to be used to scan a gas pump or ATM...... read more read more
The use of bank debit cards and credit cards to pay for goods and services or withdraw money from Automatic Teller Machines is widespread in today’s society. Credit/debit cards save time and means people do not have to carry large amounts of cash on them.
But that also means new technology can be used by thieves to steal your bank card information, warned Mike Reyes, physical security specialist, Marine Corps Logistics Base Barstow, Calif.
“One illegal device growing in popularity among the criminal world is the Bluetooth card skimmer,” Reyes said.
These devices designed to look like the actual card reader snap on easily over the real reader on a gasoline pump or ATM and electronically scan the information on the magnetic strip when the customer slides the card in to pay for gas or to withdraw money from an ATM.
According to the website National Association for Convenience Stores, the U.S. convenience store industry has 154,958 stores that account for about $550 billion in total sales. Here are more details:
• 80 percent of the gasoline sold in America is purchased at convenience stores.
• 37 million Americans refuel every day.
• Of them, 29 million pay for fuel with a credit or debit card.
• When skimming occurs at a gas station, it usually takes place at only one pump.
• A single compromised pump can capture data from 30 to 100 cards per day.
“When using an Automatic Teller Machine or gasoline pump card reader, check to see if a skimmer is attached,” Reyes urged. “You won’t break the credit card reader by pulling on the part where you insert your card to see if it comes loose.”
Also, look around you for people who seem to be just standing around he cautioned.
“The person monitoring the skimmer has to be within five to 15 feet of the device to capture the information broadcast by the skimmer,” Reyes said.
He said your smart phone can also aid in protecting your bank account and identity by downloading one of several apps that scan for the Bluetooth frequency most used by the illegal skimmer devices.
If you are the least bit uncertain about the integrity of a card reader at a gas pump or ATM there are recommended ways to protect your card information from these skimmers:
• Pay inside rather than using a gas pump for convenience.
• If using the gas pump to pay, use the one closest to the entrance of the store
• Shield your pin number while you enter it, always assume someone is watching.
• Glance over the fuel pump identifying anything that looks suspicious near the credit card reader, or you can even pull on it or shake it.
• Pay with a credit card rather than debit card. The credit card is charging money from the bank and should be protected by the liability policy.
• If the ‘skimmer scanner’ app is downloaded on the phone, use it. If a skimmer device is identified, don’t use that pump or go to another station.
• Check your bank statement often.
• Report the theft to your bank upon verification.
For more information on illegal card skimmers go to the CBS Channel 46 report on how to spot a credit card skimmer and CreditCards.com for an article on how to protect yourself at the pump.
Reyes said the skimmer problem is not an issue aboard MCLBB because it is a secure facility, but that doesn’t mean you should take any chances.
“You should always check the card reader for security because you never know.”
| Date Taken: | 02.22.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 02.23.2018 15:49 |
| Story ID: | 267038 |
| Location: | MARINE CORPS LOGISTICS BASE BARSTOW, CA, US |
| Web Views: | 86 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Avoid getting scammed, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
LEAVE A COMMENT