Police try to prevent credit-card skimming

The Vancouver Police Department is ramping up collaboration with local merchants to prevent scammers from skimming credit card data from gas pumps.

It’s unclear how widespread the use of skimming devices is, but it is happening, much to the chagrin of the pay-and-go gas pumpers who have been victimized. In December and January, a half-dozen skimming devices were found in Vancouver gas pumps.

The small devices read and store card numbers and PIN numbers. The thieves retrieve the information and make duplicate cards, which they use elsewhere. Victims don’t know they’ve been ripped off until their bank statements come.

“It appears to be happening throughout several states on the West Coast,” said Kim Kapp, a Vancouver police spokeswoman. “We’re working with law enforcement agencies elsewhere to figure out how far-spread this is.”

In December, a technician discovered a skimmer when servicing a pump at the 7-Eleven store at 5600 E. Fourth Plain Blvd. The small electronic device was concealed inside the pump’s metal cover, which could be opened with a generic key. By then, it was too late.

“The (unauthorized) charges were in California but they pumped gas here,” Kapp said. “They were able to capture the person’s information and use the card two states away.”

As part of an increased effort to curb skimming, Vancouver patrol officers are delivering fliers with tips that could be helpful to gas station operators.

Merchants with gas pumps, as well as banks and other merchants with ATM machines and card readers, should be diligent in checking machines that might be tapped, police said.

Customers, too, must be cautious, Kapp said. “The safest payment method is to go inside the store. If people want to pay cash at the pump, that’s fine.”

While the use of skimmers is apparently gaining momentum, the scam has existed since the 1980s, according to the Web site of Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna.

The skimming device has taken various forms, including hand-held versions put to use by restaurant workers who scan the card’s information before scanning the card for payment.

“It can be difficult for victims to realize when and how their information was compromised,” said Kristina Alexander, a McKenna spokeswoman who specializes in consumer protection. “Sometimes thieves will sit on it for a while.”

Alexander said banks have made their keypads more complex to make planting skimmers more difficult.

“It’s not as easy as you might want it to be,” Alexander said of protecting against skimming. “It can be very difficult to identify one of these. They look just like any other legitimate credit card reader.”

Kapp said consumers should actively monitor bank statements to make sure all transactions are accurate, calling it a “critical part of ongoing safety.”

Once victims identify fraud, Kapp advises contacting their bank and police to inform them of the illegitimate transactions.