Police warn of bank card skimming theft

Most people don't think about it. They go to the gas station and swipe their cards at the pump to fill up the tank- assuming that the charges will be justly deducted from their bank accounts. But the convenient transaction isn't always safe.

A report filed with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department indicated that someone had secretly installed an illegal "skimmer" at the USA Gas Station in Agoura Hills sometime between Aug. 10 and 15.

A skimmer is a device used to read the magnetic strips on debit and credit cards commonly used at gas pumps, automated teller machines and in retail outlets. At gas stations, the unit is usually attached to the internal circuitry of pumps and captures the number of every bank card swiped while it remains in place.

After a few days, the crooks return to retrieve their skimmer and use the information gathered by the device to produce duplicate credit cards that carry legitimate numbers and expiration dates.

The skimmer installed at the Agoura Hills gas station was found by a manager during routine maintenance. The unit was removed and turned over to authorities, said Sarah Simpson, spokesperson for Tesoro Corp., which owns the USA Stations.

What to look for

The station manager told authorities he recognized the illegal device because a similar incident had occurred a few months earlier at the same location. Thousands of dollars were stolen from customer credit and debit cards at the time, according to the report.

"We are working with the sheriff's department and credit card acquirers to investigate the incident," said Simpson.

The company also is trying to educate its employees to prevent such thefts. "We are training our retail employees to be on the lookout for suspicious activity at our gas pumps and to conduct regular inspections of the gas dispensers," Simpson said.

Where feasible, Tesoro uses security cameras to monitor automated fuel dispenser activity and fueling and is completing a payment card industry data security standards report of compliance, a national standard for all merchants to ensure data security.

"We are taking additional measures to ensure security, but we feel it isn't in the best interest of our customers to divulge our security measures as it could compromise our efforts to deter criminal activity at our stores," Simpson said.

Gas pumps are susceptible to the installation of skimmers because many pumps have a universal key area that makes their internal circuitry easily accessible, said Sgt. Will Hammer, a detective with the Ventura County Sheriff's Department.

Go with the green But for now, consumers should be proactive in protecting themselves.

Using cash is the best defense because it doesn't leave electronic traces, but people are not likely to revert to that payment method because they like the convenience bank cards offer, Hammer said.

Anyone who chooses to pay at the pump with plastic should keep a close eye on the monthly statements, said Betty Riess, a spokesperson for Bank of America.

Most banks protect their cardholders against unauthorized account transactions as long as fraudulent activity is reported promptly.

Skimmers, which are sold online, are usually used by thieves to profit from personal financial information obtained from ATM and credit cards. The devices are gaining in popularity among identity thieves, who target driver's licenses and passports with smart card technology embedded in their magnetic strips.