More Credit Card Skimmers Found at Bay Area Gas Pumps

Tampa Bay area motorists are once again begin warned to exercise caution at the pumps as more active credit card skimmers have been recovered by law enforcement.

This time two skimmers were found at the Sunoco gas station at 7170 Barclay Ave. in Brooksville. Another skimmer was also uncovered at a different Sunoco inside the Brooksville city limits, the Hernando County Sheriff’s office wrote in an email to media.

Last month, a sweep of 634 gas stations in Hillsborough, Pasco and Pinellas counties turned up six active devices. That sweep was a joint effort on the part of local law enforcement and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Criminals place skimmers on gas pumps and ATMs in an effort to capture credit card information. That information is then used to make purchases in other people’s names.

See Also:

• Credit Card Skimmers Found at Gas Pumps in 2 Bay Area Counties
• Credit Card Skimmers: What You Need to Know
• Deputies: Beware of ‘Gypsy and Traveler’ Scams

“Sheriff Al Nienhuis encourages citizens to remain observant when at the gas pumps, especially when using a credit or debit card,” the Hernando County email stated. “Be sure to look for any damage to the pump (near where the card reader is) and check to see if the safety seal appears to have been tampered with.”

Motorists who find anything suspicious are urged to let store managers know.

Law enforcement, however, warns that skimmers are often hard to detect since they are placed inside the gas pump cabinets. With that in mind, the state recommends consumers take these steps to protect themselves against skimmers:

• Pay in cash inside the store
• Check to make sure the gas pump dispenser cabinet is closed and has not been tampered with
• Use a pump as close to the front of the store as possible
• Use a credit card instead of a debit card since credit cards tend to have better fraud protection and money is not always immediately detected
• If using a debit card, run it as credit instead of using the PIN number
• Monitor bank accounts frequently to check for unauthorized charges

If information has been compromised, consumers should report thefts to local law enforcement and their credit card companies or banks immediately.

For more information on protecting yourself at the pump, check out “Credit Card Skimmers: What You Need to Know.”

Photo courtesy of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office

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