CHILLICOTHE – A credit card skimmer used to steal information from unsuspecting victims while fueling up was identified at the BP gas station in Chillicothe’s 1141 East Main Street this week. The charge on the card came up as “Conoco” said the two people who contacted Sciotopost today, both said they were also charged 75 dollars. They have confirmed with BP and the Credit card company that this was a fraudulent charge and BP has confirmed that pump ten was tampered with.
According to one of the victims the credit card company said they have been getting complains all over the Chillicothe by various gas stations on the same charges happening, but wouldn’t say what other gas stations had been affected.
Card skimmers are a device that grabs data from your debit or credit cards magnetic strip while in the process of a normal transaction at the gas station. They are usually concealed to look like part of the real payment terminals. Usually the thief has to come back to the compromised machine and remove the device or data card containing the stolen data. With the information the thief can recreate cloned cards, or use your information online to purchase items. Banks are fighting this theft with the new EMV chip cards, a small chip attached to credit cards.
Ways to identify tampering or identifying skimmers
- When approaching a ATM check for obvious signs of tampering of the device. Some thief’s mount a camera to record pin numbers being entered into the system for later use.
- If there is multiple ATMs its a good idea to compare the two to see if one is different from the other.
- ATMs are generally well constructed so the card reader shouldn’t be “wiggly” or have loose parts. Card skimmers are usually overlaid over the original device.
- When entering your pin always pretend someone is watching and be mindful of protecting it.
- Criminals target non busy areas because its easier to tamper with the device. ATMs inside banks and in lobbies are not as targeted because they are always under camera protection.
- Use EMV reader devices the “chip” has been installed onto most cards now to circumvent this kind of theft.
If you think your information has been stolen and find fraudulent charges on your credit card please contact local authorities and your credit card or bank card company. Usually these charges are reversed when tampering and thief are involved.
The picture in the article is a marathon pump. It is not a BP pump which is green and White. The $75 charge is when you pay at the pump the pump does not know how much gas you were getting so it blocks the funds. When the charge is cleared it is for what they actually pump and not the $75 hold. The $75 charge is when you pay at the pump the pump does not know how much gas you were getting so it blocks funds. When the charge settles it is for what they actually pump and not the $75 hold. Some banks do it for a dollar others do it for up to $100. If you pay inside it’s considered point of sale and it’s for an exact amount. If it’s a prepay situation it will only clear for what you actually pump and not for what you pre-paid. There are signs posted on BP pumps that says your bank could hold funds. There have been no skimmers on any pumps at the BP- Duchess locations in Chillicothe or Circleville. The management staff is required to check the security stickers on their pumps several times daily.
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