If you buy gasoline, then you’ve surely noticed the price of gas has soared since the depths of the pandemic in mid-2020. And with the high price of gas, there has been renewed focus on scams that can take place at the gas pump.
Consider the facts
- 15% of Americans surveyed say they’ve been the victim of credit card skimming at a gas pump, and 43% say they’ve changed the way that they pay for gas to avoid skimming, with women and Millennials being more likely to change the way that they pay. (LendingTree)
- Paying for gas inside, instead of at the pump, is the most common way people have changed their payment habits due to the risk of skimming, with 20% reporting doing so. (LendingTree)
- It’s estimated that skimming costs financial institutions and consumers more than $1 billion each year. (FBI)
- In Las Vegas, a single criminal was convicted of using at least 3,120 stolen credit and debit card account numbers, causing a loss of at least $157,695.51. (U.S. Department of Justice)
- The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services inspects about 9,000 gas pumps each year, and has removed more than 5,500 skimmers since 2015. (FDACS)
- The gasoline industry finds that EMV chips and contactless credit cards are reducing the incidents of skimming. For example, in 2019, 209 skimmers were found in Arizona, but as of March 31, none have been found in 2022. (12news.com)
Credit card skimming
There are many ways that scammers target gas station…
