SKIMMER FINDER: How to protect your card information after skimmers possibly used at gas pump

Wednesday, June 6, 2018
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Several people have reported their credit cards were compromised after pumping gas at a Shell station on West Alabama and Montrose.

Police say a credit card skimmer may have been used at the pump in the Museum District.

One woman says she was victimized twice.

"I have a son who had a debit card with one bank that he only used for gas, so once that charge happened, shortly after, he had a different charge and it said Shell but it actually was an ATM."

She says her daughter's credit card was also hit with fraudulent charges a day later after she pumped gas at the same station.

"I definitely think it's a form of organized crime," she says.

Security experts say thieves are breaking into gas pumps and installing these skimmers. You swipe for gas and then the Bluetooth technology allows the crooks to download the data from afar - getting your credit card information.

If you used your debit card, they can get your personal pin number too.

But there is an app that can help you protect your card information.

Skimmer scanner is an app designed to help users detect if there is a skimming device before they get gas.

The way it works is, you turn on the app near the pump and if it says 'no skimmer detected,' you are good to swipe in your card.

However, if the app states 'found possible skimmer' detecting the codes HC-05 or 06, users are urged to fill somewhere else.
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