Fuel Station Skimmers: Primed at the Pump
Summary: Krebs on Security describes security tape wrapped around gas pump card readers as a weak signal meant mainly to alert station attendants to tampering, since a scammer can simply move the tape or place a skimmer on top. The post notes that pump skimming attacks typically begin when someone uses one of the few master keys that open most gas pumps, and that a pump skimmer sells in underground forums for upwards of USD $2,000, designed to fit directly over ESSO/Exxon readers.
Why it matters: The tape is a visual check, not a control: a few shared master keys open most pumps, and a $2,000 overlay skimmer defeats the tape entirely. Krebs urges readers to avoid debit cards at the pump, because an emptied checking account creates secondary problems like bounced checks while the bank sorts it out.
Read the original at Krebs on Security ↗
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