Wondering How that Gas Station Undercuts the Competition?

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Messages 1 - 5 of total 5 in this topic
Happiegrrrl2

Trad climber
Topic Author's Original Post - Nov 30, 2015 - 08:45am PT
Few schemes for monetizing stolen credit cards are as bold as the fuel theft scam: Crooks embed skimming devices inside fuel station pumps to steal credit card data from customers. Thieves then clone the cards and use them to steal hundreds of gallons of gas at multiple filling stations. The gas is pumped into hollowed-out trucks and vans, which ferry the fuel to a giant tanker truck. The criminals then sell and deliver the gas at cut rate prices to shady and complicit fuel station owners.

http://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/11/gas-theft-gangs-fuel-pump-skimming-scams/

This blogger writes about internet security with a focus on fraud. In this post he details the links between fuel pump skimmers and the end purchaser(in the story, says it is shady gas stations). I always thought it must be quite hard to get those skimmers placed in the gas pumps, but apparently they simply bribe a worker to look the other way.
donini

Trad climber
Ouray, Colorado
Nov 30, 2015 - 09:17am PT
Sounds like something out of "Road Warrior."
kunlun_shan

Mountain climber
SF, CA
Nov 30, 2015 - 09:36am PT
Krebs has a similarly outrageous story about cash machines being deployed (in Mexico) with card skimmers installed in them. He initially thought ATM technicians were being bribed, and then discovered a clandestine company was in the cash machine business specifically for the purpose of stealing card info.

http://krebsonsecurity.com/2015/09/whos-behind-bluetooth-skimming-in-mexico/
Ksolem

Trad climber
Monrovia, California
Nov 30, 2015 - 12:43pm PT
Before ATM's, banks had "night depositories" where one could deposit an envelope full of cash. A bank teller would verify the amount when the bank was open. These were frequently used by the owners of food carts, news stands, pretty much any street business where cash was used exclusively and the vendor wanted to get in a safe place ASAP.

Once, over the Christmas holiday someone set up a fake one of these things attached to a fifth ave, bank. I guess they matched the stone and all. Someone noticed when it disappeared, I don't think anyone was ever apprehended.
Bill Mc Kirgan

Trad climber
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Nov 30, 2015 - 01:42pm PT
In a previous job I worked installing and repairing ATMs and various point-of-sale equipment with card readers. During my training we learned of this type of scam, and were taught to look out for anything unusual on the housing of the equipment we serviced. The additional card scanning equipment can be piggy-backed onto the existing stuff and the add-on equipment ranges from obvious fake to very realistic fake.



A word of caution to anyone who encounters such equipment.

#1: play it off (continue your business as usual)
This is important because the perpetrator may be near by. DO NOT fiddle with it or take pictures. Simply conclude your 'business' and get out of there. Then call the bank or filling station and report your concerns. They will call security and technicians who will investigate the situation.


#2: protect your PIN number every time you enter it.
Hunch over the keypad or get so close that any camera that may be positioned nearby won't read your card.


Be card-swiping-safe out there.

Messages 1 - 5 of total 5 in this topic
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