Gas-buying Dangerous In Gainesville

Law enforcement officials in Gainesville, Fla., are warning people not to use credit or debit cards at any area gas station pump because of recurring problems with fraudsters putting “skimmers” on the pumps that steal the card information.

"The Alachua County Sheriff's Office cannot guarantee the security of the citizens' personal credit card information at the gas pumps in Alachua County," Lt. Steve Maynard, spokesman for the local sheriff's office, said in a July 24 report in the Gainesville Sun. Gainesville is in Alachua County.

Gas station and ATM “skimmers” have become a burgeoning problem across the United States during the last year, the security Web site DarkReading.com has reported.

Skimming devices attached to or within an ATM machine or gas pump often can’t be detected by a routine user. The devices typically include a scanner, transmitter, camera, and, most recently, Bluetooth- or wireless-enabled links that transmit the credit card data to the fraudsters who had the skimmers installed.

Authorities said the skimming devices on the Gainesville gas pumps are equipped with Bluetooth, allowing the data to be retrieved by a cell phone or laptop computer.

Earlier in July, three skimming devices were found at two gas stations just off Interstate 75 in and around Gainesville. Authorities subsequently checked all gas station pumps at major interchanges along I-75 in Alachua County, finding no additional skimmers.

But on July 23, Gainesville police detectives found skimmers on two gas pumps at another Gainesville station.

Maynard said authorities lack the resources to check all Gainesville stations daily and that residents should pay inside the station to ensure the safety of their credit-card information.

"The gas station ownership and management have to take responsibility for protecting their customers and checking their pumps on a daily basis," he said.

Gainesville police spokeswoman Cpl. Tscharna Senn told the Sun that local residents should also check their credit card statements for any suspicious activity.

Some estimates say 60 percent of gas station customers normally pay at the pump with a credit or debit card.