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The US Secret Service recently launched a national initiative to crack down on credit card skimming devices at gas stations.
According to a report by NBC News, the crackdown operation – dubbed "Operation Deep Impact" – was launched on Thanksgiving Day, when fuel demand increased dramatically during the holiday season.
According to a statement issued by the government agency, "about 54 million Americans will travel across the city or country for Thanksgiving and in doing so, many will buy gas for their car," according to a statement released by the government agency The report.
"These annual increases in the number of travelers on the road during the holidays mean more pay days for" à la carte "criminals who target victims at gas stations."
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), credit card skimming is a process by which illegal card readers, installed in the payment area of a fuel pump, steal card information from customers. people then sell or use them to make fraudulent purchases.
The secret services have said that this type of crime worsens over time. the NBC News Special Intelligence Officer Matthew O'Neil also said in a report: "There is more technology to search for skimmers in ATMs, so bad actors are turning to skimmers with gas pumps ".
Have to travel to have a # HappyThanksgiving2018? Do not worry, the secret services cover you. This year, instead of turkey, we serve a cold dish of gas pump skimmers across the country. Read about our efforts: https://t.co/9LnAsQyXGm pic.twitter.com/EO6UklU2SO
– US Secret Service (@SecretService) November 22, 2018
He added that the agency recovers about 20 to 30 skimmers a week and that at the moment the authorities are seizing these machines, the average skimmer has already stolen "the information of about 80 cards on it".
"They are easy to create, easy to deploy, and they can quickly get a lot of stolen credit card data. [criminals] does not even have to go back and recover the skimmer, "O'Neill explained. NBC News report.
The agency also said that about 200 skimmers had been recovered across the country since the launch of the Thanksgiving action, which has so far prevented nearly $ 6 million in fraud.
Despite the repression, some holidaymakers had difficulties with these skimmers. According to the report, a man named Steven Plake, who was traveling to Fulshear, Texas, was the victim of credit card information theft.
"They loaded Adidas and Nike. I saw charges of $ 75, $ 80 and three charges, "he said.
"[I] went to the nearest petrol station, used my card like everyone else, then I guess that afternoon, I found a charge on my bank account that I knew had not debited . We ended up calling the bank and they realized that someone had your number.
Although it is difficult to spot a skimmer, the FTC recommends that users do a quick check before slipping the cards, which could save them from fraudulent practice.
"Make sure the gas pump panel is closed and shows no signs of tampering," wrote FTC specialist Colleen Tressler in an August blog post. about crime. "Many stations have now affixed security seals on the cabinet panel. If the pump panel is open, the label will indicate "empty", indicates the ratio.
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