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Criminals Hide Payment-Card Skimmers In Gas Pumps
tugfoigel writes "A wave of recent bank-card skimming incidents demonstrate how sophisticated the scam has become. Criminals hid bank card-skimming devices inside gas pumps — in at least one case, even completely replacing the front panel of a pump — in a recent wave of attacks that demonstrate a more sophisticated, insidious method of stealing money from unsuspecting victims filling up their gas tanks. Some 180 gas stations in Utah, from Salt Lake City to Provo, were reportedly found with these skimming devices sitting inside the gas pumps. The scam was first discovered when a California bank's fraud department discovered that multiple bank card victims reporting problems had all used the same gas pump at a 7-Eleven store in Utah."
As a gas pump mechanic, I can say that it's a battle just to get the owners to crack the pumps open once a month to check for fuel leaks and other safety issues.
As for keys, a dozen keys will open every pump on the continent. I've never come across a pump that needed a unique key. Heck most gas stations won't even put pad locks on their underground fuel tanks. This sometimes leads to confused seniors in RV's dumping their septic tanks down there, thinking it was a sewer line made for motor homes... I hate to say it but most people involved in the gas station industry are so dumb they need helmets.
I love this skit
Mitchel and Webb - Identity Theft
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