Plant City residents beware: Criminals using a credit card-stealing tactic called “skimming” have targeted local gas stations in recent weeks.
The Plant City Police Department has experienced an increase in complaints of fraudulent credit card charges. Anecdotally, more than a dozen residents have reported incidents of fraud through social media outlets such as Facebook.
Leslie Varn used her debit card to buy gas at the Circle K on Park Road. About a week later, she noticed unauthorized transactions made at a RaceTrac, in Orlando.
“I had to cancel my debit card, which means all of my auto bill pays had to be switched,” Varn said. “Also had to go to the bank and fill out fraudulent paperwork.”
Resident Traci Forcucci also used her card at the outside pump at Circle K off Park Road. A fraudulent purchased appeared May 8, made at a RaceTrac on Waters Avenue, in Tampa. She didn’t drive to Tampa that day.
“I can’t be 100% that (the Circke K is) where they got it, but the only other place I use my card is Publix,” she said.
Criminals are stealing the credit card information by installing a scanner on pay-at-the-pump gas stations or ATMs. In a matter of minutes, they can install the scanner with a popsicle stick and super glue. The scanners attach to the front or above the regular scanners, so when inserted, the card also slides against the fake scanner. Some also use small cameras to record debit card pins. Others place a fake keypad over the real one.
The scanners can hold about 1,000 numbers, victimizing any patron who swipes his or her card.
Plant City Police Capt. Jerry Stwan said the department currently is scouring locations for scanners. However, criminals often return to retrieve the scanners long before any fraudulent purchases are made.
“They can hold onto the card information for days, weeks, sometimes months,” Stwan said.
Stwan said that when they do recover a scanner at a gas station, it is usually installed at the pump farthest away from the store.
“These guys are pretty slick,” Stwan said. “This is an ongoing problem — not just Plant City-wide but statewide and throughout the country. It’s a bad thing.”
Stwan advises using pumps that are closer to the building. The best way to prevent fraud is to forgo payment at the pump entirely and pay inside.
“I understand it’s easier to pay at the pump,” Stwan said. “Sometimes, I even get lazy or am in a hurry.”
Shaylae Witzel was in a hurry when she used her debit card at a BP station on Thonotosassa Road.
“I use that station all the time, and I rarely use my debit card at the pump but I didn’t have cash and was in a hurry that day,” she said.
She got a call from her bank, stopping a $289 transaction at a Fort Myers Chili’s from going through.
“It is still a major inconvenience especially over the holiday weekend,” Witzel said. “This is the second time I have had to shut a card down. I was also caught up in the Target scandal.”
Americans swiped their cards 73.2 billion times in 2012, according to a Federal Reserve payment study.
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.
PROTECT YOURSELF
The estimated annual number of unauthorized transactions, third-party fraud, in 2012 was 31.3 million, with a value of $6.1 billion, according to a Federal Reserved payment study. Skimming is just one way hackers have devised to get your financial information.
Here’s how to protect yourself.
• Look at the scanning device at the pump. If it doesn’t seem to match the pump’s color and style, it might be a skimmer.
• Skimmers are attached to the front or tops of scanning devices. Try and wiggle the device to make sure it is firmly secure and actually part of the real scanner.
• Criminals usually attached skimmers to pumps that are farthest away from the store. Try to use pumps closest to the store or check to make sure it matches other pumps at the station.
• Pay inside the store for gas.
• Check your bank statements regularly to catch fraudulent charges early. Report suspicious activity to your bank and local police department.