Credit Card Skimming Devices Smarter, On Uptick In Arizona

PHOENIX, AZ — The crooks who put credit card skimming devices in gas pumps are getting smarter, using Bluetooth technology that allows them to receive the information they’re after remotely by text message. In Arizona, more than half of the skimmers found this year were discovered in the last month, according to data from the Arizona Weights and Measures Services Division.

The skimmers, which can’t be seen from outside the pump, can be installed in seconds. Criminals use keys to open the pumps quickly, insert the skimmers, and then leave. The skimmers copy the consumer’s card information for criminals to make fraudulent purchases.

Since January 2017, nearly 90 skimming devices have been found at 72 locations around Arizona, officials said. The most recent discovery was at a gas station in the Phoenix suburb of Avondale, near Central Avenue and Main Street, television station KNXV reported.

Authorities are working with gas pump technicians to encourage them to report skimming devices, the television station said. The Weights and Measures Services Division said it has deployed 16 investigators to look into the growing problem. (Get Phoenix Patch's real-time news alerts and free morning news letters. Like us on Facebook. Also, download the free Patch iPhone app or free Patch Android app.)

“It’s definitely a team effort trying to keep up with the criminals,” the agency’s associate director, Michelle Wilson, told KNXV.

The agency works closely with officials in other states and law enforcements to share intelligence about trends, she said.

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