|
 |
 |
| Identity theft at the gas pump |
|
| Lindsay Landry |
|
10/16/2008 - TYLER-A new trend in identity theft has already caught on in parts of North Texas and around the country. It's happening at gas stations. Now, many want to know if this trend has driven through East Texas too.
Thieves have once again come up with yet another way to steal your information. And if your one of the many Americans who like to pay for their gas right there at the pump, you could be putting yourself at risk.
Thieves have started stealing account numbers and PINs from the automated system. They use a device called a skimmer to copy information from the magnetic strips of debit and credit cards.
These skimmers have been used on ATM machines for years, Executive VP of Southside Bank, Brian McCabe, said. "It makes sense that they would move on to gas station's pay at the pump machines," he said.
And it doesn't matter if it's a debit or credit card, just as long as it has that magnetic strip. "Sometimes their able to capture PINs as well, depending on the complexity of the scanner," McCabe said.
Police in Plano, TX have already looked into 50 cases of ID theft they believed were connected to gas purchases.
So how can you keep your personal information private? "If something looks unusual and you've been to pay at the pumps stations before and this one looks different, just don't use the machine," he said. "Ask the store owner to look at it."
So far police in East Texas have not had any cases of theft from a gas pump. But no matter where it happened. If you ever a victim of theft, the quicker you can tell the bank the better.
|
|
|
|
