Patient thieves make off with thousands from stolen card data
Jeez...it seems like there's about four or five of these stories per day now. I guess I was spot on with my prediction to look for more of these gas station skimmer stories in the near future. One has to wonder what the long term effect on consumers trust of Point of Sale devices may be as they become more aware of how simple it is to fall victim to this type of fraud.
Maybe HomeATM can look into creating a system whereby consumers (knowing that their own personal card swiping device is safer than the ones at gas stations) can "prepay for gas at home" using their HomeATM wedgie, get a gas disbursement code, and then go to the gas station, enter the code and dispense their gas. Anyway, here's yet another story on card skimming at gas stations. This time, the perpetrators waited a full year before empyting the bank accounts of their victims. I guess patience is not always virtuous.
Last summer, thieves skimmed debit card information from a South Hill gas station. Then, nearly a year later, they withdrew tens of thousands of dollars from Pierce County residents’ bank accounts, Pierce County Sheriff’s officials said.
By waiting, the thieves can be pretty sure surveillance videos showing them will have been erased. And by making their ATM withdraws over a holiday weekend, it created an extra day for banks to realize something was amiss, said Pierce County Sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said.
Detectives have identified about 75 victims, including cases reported to Tacoma police, and expect many more may be out there, he said. Some victims lost several hundred dollars, others lost thousands.
“Someone might have only had $500 in their account, but the bank lets them take out $3,000 because of overdraft protection,” Troyer said.
By comparing the bank statements of the victims, investigators believe the cards were skimmed from the ARCO station at 11608 Meridian East last August.
“We don’t know if they have more cards and are planning to do another round,” Troyer said. Anyone who used a debit card at the station in August 2007 should get their card replaced, he said.
The thieves used an electronic device that records the customers’ card numbers and pin information, he said. People should be on the look out for card readers that don’t look right or keypads that have been placed over the existing one, Troyer said.
While these types of scams are sophisticated, the electronic components are relatively easy to come by. The next generation of electronic theft, which taps into Bluetooth and wireless technology, is even scarier, Troyer said.
Maybe HomeATM can look into creating a system whereby consumers (knowing that their own personal card swiping device is safer than the ones at gas stations) can "prepay for gas at home" using their HomeATM wedgie, get a gas disbursement code, and then go to the gas station, enter the code and dispense their gas. Anyway, here's yet another story on card skimming at gas stations. This time, the perpetrators waited a full year before empyting the bank accounts of their victims. I guess patience is not always virtuous.
Last summer, thieves skimmed debit card information from a South Hill gas station. Then, nearly a year later, they withdrew tens of thousands of dollars from Pierce County residents’ bank accounts, Pierce County Sheriff’s officials said.
By waiting, the thieves can be pretty sure surveillance videos showing them will have been erased. And by making their ATM withdraws over a holiday weekend, it created an extra day for banks to realize something was amiss, said Pierce County Sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said.
Detectives have identified about 75 victims, including cases reported to Tacoma police, and expect many more may be out there, he said. Some victims lost several hundred dollars, others lost thousands.
“Someone might have only had $500 in their account, but the bank lets them take out $3,000 because of overdraft protection,” Troyer said.
By comparing the bank statements of the victims, investigators believe the cards were skimmed from the ARCO station at 11608 Meridian East last August.
“We don’t know if they have more cards and are planning to do another round,” Troyer said. Anyone who used a debit card at the station in August 2007 should get their card replaced, he said.
The thieves used an electronic device that records the customers’ card numbers and pin information, he said. People should be on the look out for card readers that don’t look right or keypads that have been placed over the existing one, Troyer said.
While these types of scams are sophisticated, the electronic components are relatively easy to come by. The next generation of electronic theft, which taps into Bluetooth and wireless technology, is even scarier, Troyer said.
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