LANSING, Mich. -- Credit-card skimmers remain a problem in Michigan and elsewhere, according to Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) director Jamie Clover Adams.
“Approximately 70 credit-card skimmers have been found and removed from gas pumps statewide since last year,” said Clover Adams. “Credit-card skimmers will not be tolerated in Michigan. MDARD’s Weights and Measures inspectors, gas station owners and law enforcement remain on the hunt for skimmers to protect the state’s consumers from fraud.”
Credit-card skimmers, which can’t be seen from outside the pump, can be installed in seconds. Criminals use keys to open the pumps quickly, insert the skimmers and leave. The skimmers copy the consumer’s card information so criminals can make fraudulent purchases.
“Some steps station owners can take, and have taken, to protect their patrons from cyber-criminals are changing locks, using tamper-proof security tape and security cameras. MDARD is also encouraging station owners to increase their regular dispenser inspections,” Clover Adams said.
In Arizona, state inspectors found more skimmers in August than it found in all of 2015. From Aug. 1 to 12, they found 12 devices. They found only 11 last year. This year, they have found 40 skimmers around the state. In August, the state Department of Agriculture reported skimmers in Tempe, Glendale, Phoenix and Yuma.
Not only are more skimmers turning up, but the criminals are also making it more difficult to find the devices inside the pumps.
“We are finding the skimmers attached to the circuit boards which are harder for technicians and criminals to reach,” said Mark Killian, director of the Department of Agriculture. “These are brazen criminals working in fairly public places that are usually well lit.”
In response to the increasing number of crimes, Gov. Doug Ducey signed a law this year to increase the penalty when criminals use skimmers for financial gain.
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