Over the last four months, I have been approached by two people who have fallen prey to the credit card skimmers at two area Royal Farms stores. Considering I have minimal at best interactions with locals now days, this is not a good ratio.
Last November, one man reported his card was cloned after using the Beaglin Park Drive Royal Farms. When he went to the pump, he noticed a car with two guys, acting as if they were waiting for his pump - even though there were other pumps available. He pumped his gas then left but noticed as he was exiting the parking lot, the waiting car drove up to the pump and left without getting gas.
Another case just happened this last week at the South Division Street Royal Farms, across from the Milford Medical Park. A woman used the pumps there and within less than 24-hours, a multitude of charges started to drop on her bank account. She was completely unaware of it until her bank phoned her about possible fraud. Even though the charges were all reversed, she was required to get another debit card.
Granted, it's not Royal Farms' fault entirely but their pumps are never manned by store employee, which makes them easy marks for making targets, undetected. If you notice, there aren't even any visible cameras in these areas to deter criminal behavior.
Hopefully, you will catch it before it becomes an issue for you, but it would also be good if area self-serve pump outlets would check their card readers periodically throughout the day to safeguard their customers.
In the meantime, just be mindful before putting your card in these outdoor readers -- you never know what criminal ruse is afoot.
These stores should be held responsible for monitoring their equipment.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Thornton, for showing us the photo. Although I try to look for any abnormalities before I slide my card, without knowing what to look for, I have always felt at a loss to know for sure. This type is probably only one of many types, but it does show us the basic concept of them.
ReplyDeleteMy question is, is there a chip type skimmer out there yet and what does it look like?
This is a chip skimmer probably one of many thou. I need to go back to paying cash I think.
DeletePay cash like I do. Solves problem
ReplyDelete10:23AM The woman said she asked her bank about the chip and its effectiveness and they told her, while it cuts down on the fraud, the skimmers are almost impossible to prevent. The reason being is when you slide the card through it's like voluntarily giving your number and all the strip info to the skimmer.
ReplyDeleteCard readers that use the chip from below aren't used at gas pumps, just the side slide variety. Maybe with these card skimming crimes on the increase, gas stations will begin using the chip-dependent readers which are fairly more difficult to devise a device to attach to them.
Thanks for the snaps!
My husband thinks I'm nuts but I always pull and jiggle the card readers to make sure they are real.
ReplyDelete10:27AM You aren't nuts at all. You are a wise person! And yes, 10:26 and 10:23v2 - you're right! Cash is always king! Unless you're passing trash cash! LOL
ReplyDeleteI've heard of this problem before with Royal Farms. That's why I don't go to them anymore. Has anyone had this happen at other stations in town?
ReplyDeleteIt was happening at the Wine Rack/Exxon in Fruitland around September/October of last year as well.
DeleteI'm sure the skimmer thieves are far from brand loyal, 10:33! They can put those skimmers anywhere they think they can get a reading!
ReplyDelete1027 I do the same thing. Smart.
ReplyDeleteI carry a screwdriver in my car so if I ever see one of these things I'm prying the damn thing off and taking it to the police!
ReplyDeleteI carry a log chain and hack saw. If I see one I drag the entire pump to police for evidence. I'll take the camera system too. One time I took the ATM and brought to the police but people got the wrong idea. Idk I was just trying to help.
DeleteWouldn't be surprised if it was an inside job by some of the employees. Wouldn't that be convenient?
ReplyDeleteThe Homeys girls work for the FARM stores
DeleteI think this happened to me at Lowe's out there on 13. It was weird how these guys kept watching me checkout and asked me a bunch of questions. I felt creeped out but still did the purchase. Two days later my card company called and said they thought my card was ripped off. It took a while to get all the money credited back plus I had to wait for the new card to come in the mail. What a pain in the butt.
ReplyDeleteGo inside and swipe your card with the cashier
ReplyDeleteSame thing happened to be but not at a Royal Farms. They get the numbers and then sell them. The charges on my card were coming from another state. And were a bunch of small charges at a USPS kiosk to test to see if it's been reported. What I was told was they are able to do this because the gas station I was using didn't upgrade their credit card machines on the pumps.
ReplyDeleteMakes sense 1156. I'd bet places like Shore Stop and the Oceanic places don't update their pumps. I looked up this on google and saw some of these devices are very elaborate. They even break into the machine and place the reader transmitter inside. You still have exterior clues that its there. Pretty insane that Royal Farms and other gas stations don't care enough about their customers to check them regularly inside and out.
ReplyDeleteIf stores aren't updating their stuff wouldn't make them responsible for the theft in addition to the people putting the scanners on their equipment?
ReplyDeleteIf you notice inside the store Royal Farms have not upgraded their skimmers at all. You still have to swipe your card.
ReplyDeleteHappened to my husband and the only place he had used his car was Sam Club to get gas. They bought a pair of Nike tennis shoes at Foot Locker in the Mall. We reported it to SPD within 24 hours of it happening. I happen to look at my online banking and noticed it. I guess it was too much work to pull the cameras at the mall to see if they could catch the person.
ReplyDeleteLocal Law Enforcement sees it as a petty crime 139. They don't even adjudicate large ID Theft charges around here. They usually plea them down and given them suspended sentences even when caught red handed and they CONFESS to the crime.
ReplyDeleteYour name/account is on the magnetic stripe. The PIN is entered should you choose DEBIT. The bad guys usually use their own add-on reader to get the account number and a (hidden) camera is often used to record your PIN number. If you enter a PIN, cover up the keyboard with your other hand or use it as a credit card (no PIN required).
ReplyDeleteIt should not take a rocket scientist to figure out how to make the pumps far more secure regarding the locking mechanism. Perhaps a large steel band that goes around the entire pump and unique keyed padlock might do the trick.
ReplyDeleteKeep in mind, skimmers are falling out of fashion in place of "SHIMMERS" which are super slim devices that GO INSIDE the card slot, not an add-on. Keep a little led flashlight on your keychain and actually look inside the card slot.
ReplyDeleteI am always amazed that anyone with all this tech ability could not have a good paying IT jobs with benefits. Actually a lot of criminals ....not these local loafing thugs...but people that really run schemes always seem like they are smart and could be doing legit things. Is it the thrill of the risk or what ? I don't get it.
ReplyDeleteI take 100 dollars put it in my ash tray for fuel in my vehicle. Never had a problem BUT I learned the HARDWAY.
ReplyDeleteWhat the heck am I taking a flashlight with me for when I don't know what I'm looking for?
ReplyDeleteSlime in the card slot, sounds like someone is yanking everyone's leg.
ReplyDeleteI pull on every card reader I use. And look for hidden cameras.
ReplyDeleteUse a credit card since you are protected against theft fraud. Check your statements for errors and sign up for notifications from card issuer. Stop being a junior detective and worrying about everything. Police will do nothing, cc company will reimburse you and life goes on. If you are really worried about, do like we do. Have a 500 gallon gas tank and 500 gallon diesel tank, have them filled with farm fuel - no road tax and fill vehicles up at home. Only buy fuel two times per year.
ReplyDeleteTHE B.L.M. HANG OUT AT THE ROYAL FARMS ON SNOW HILL ROAD AFTER MIDNIGHT
ReplyDeleteBlogger Zorro said...
ReplyDeleteTHE B.L.M. HANG OUT AT THE ROYAL FARMS ON SNOW HILL ROAD AFTER MIDNIGHT
January 22, 2018 at 12:47 AM
That's why I stopped going there
They are hitting the Royal Farms in Sussex Co also. I have co-workers learning the hard way.
ReplyDeleteOr you could stop being such snowflakes and check the damn things yourself.
ReplyDeleteThey may get time now that Brueckner is gone!!
ReplyDelete