SANFORD, Fla. – It’s called “Skim Scan” – an electronic reader that detects a “skimmer” at the gas pump.
The thin flat end is inserted into the credit card reader and the computer on the other end of the device then flashes red to indicate the presence of a skimmer or green to indicate the pump has not been tampered with.
Sanford Police Department Financial Crimes Investigator David Kaiser now uses the Skim Scan after finding skimmers inconspicuously placed at gas pumps city-wide.
“The police department purchased it for roughly under $500 on Amazon,” Kaiser said. “Since this purchase, I’ve used it a few times, I haven’t located one [a skimmer] in almost a year.”
Kaiser said other law enforcement agencies around Central Florida and even the Secret Service use the same device to detect illegal credit card readers.
Skimmers as small as a circuit board can be placed inside the gas pump and are otherwise undetectable.
Some skimmers cover the credit card reader and record a credit card number when the card is inserted. A pinhole camera placed above the skimmer records the PIN.
Kaiser said stolen credit card data is then transmitted to thieves parked nearby wirelessly using Bluetooth.
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Should you buy a skimmer detector?
“Maybe not this particular model because it is so expensive to a consumer,” Kaiser said. “But it’s never a bad idea. If they could find a good, reputable one, yes.”
Kaiser said every time he pulls up to a pump, he wiggles the credit card reader before inserting his card.
Paying inside with cash, as inconvenient as it can be, is the only fool-proof way to protect your credit card information. At least use a credit card and not a debit card to pay, Kaiser said, to lessen your chances of being held liable for fraudulent charges.
Just a few weeks ago News 6 Anchor Erik von Ancken reported on a local case where Federal agents turned up 1,200 stolen cards, including von Ancken’s.