A man with decades of experience in cybersecurity found a credit card skimmer on a gas pump at a Fort Pierce 7-Eleven, and police are now investigating (Arlo Bess)
FORT PIERCE, Fla. (CBS12) —A man with decades of experience in cybersecurity found a credit card skimmer on a gas pump at a Fort Pierce7-Eleven, and police are now investigating.
Arlo Bess said he was stopping for gas at the 7-Eleven on the south side of Orange Avenue near Interstate 95 before heading back to Palm Bay when he found the device.
Bess said he has worked in cybersecurity on and off for about 25 years. He said that background made him cautious at the pump. For years, he has tugged on the outside of the card reader every time he pays with a card at a gas station. He said this was the first time one came loose.
“I was quite surprised when I went in there and pulled on it, just like I normally do, half not expecting anything to come out, and out pops this,” Bess said.
Bess said skimmers take almost no time to put on.
“It literally takes about two to three seconds to put one in place and about the same amount of time to pull one out,” Bess said.
Bess said skimmers like this one are often held on with double-sided tape. A small chip inside reads the data on a card’s magnetic stripe as it goes in. He said thieves usually leave a device in place for about a week and collect card numbers, expiration dates, and often security codes. They can then sell that information on the dark web or copy it onto other cards to make purchases at places like self-checkout kiosks or online.
Bess took the device inside and showed it to the store manager, who called police. He said officers arrived a few minutes later and took a report, and they checked every pump at the station with him for more skimmers. Bess said neither the manager nor the responding officer had ever seen a skimmer in person. He said the manager also reported it to her supervisor with the company.
The Fort Pierce Police Department confirmed it is investigating.
Bess said you can’t reliably spot a skimmer just by looking.
“By looking at it visually, you can’t tell the difference between a pump that’s got a skimmer on it and one that doesn’t,” Bess said.
The one he found looked newer and shinier than the scuffed readers on the other pumps. Still, he said the best check is a firm pull on the card reader with your hands, without using tools. He also said newer skimmers can sit inside the card slot, where they can’t be seen at all.
“My advice would be to tap your card, go inside and pay. It’s much harder to put these skimming devices on card readers inside the store,” Bess said.
He also recommends not using a debit card at the pump. He said fraud protections for debit cards are different from those for credit cards, so it can take weeks to get stolen money back from a checking account. If you need to use a debit or ATM card, Bess suggests using a machine inside a bank lobby. He said outdoor machines, including drive-thru ATMs, are easier targets because thieves are less likely to be seen.
We’ll have an update on the investigation from the Fort Pierce Police Department, and we’ll give you the details when they become available.
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