INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Ahead of what’s expected to be another record-breaking holiday travel weekend, Commissioner of Agriculture Adam H. Putnam along with Senator Anitere Flores and the Miami-Dade Police Department are offering tips to avoid identity-stealing card skimmers placed on gas pumps, and information on
a new anti-skimmer law that will help protect Floridians and visitors from skimmers.
“Floridians and visitors are all too often the victims of fraud, and identity-stealing card skimmers are the last thing they want to deal with this travel season,” Putnam said. “When filling up your gas tanks this summer, be sure to take simple steps to protect yourselves from skimmers.”
In a little over a year, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has found and removed more than 250 skimmers, devices that illegally capture consumers’ credit or debit card information, from gas pumps across Florida. The number of consumers victimized by each skimmer is estimated to be about 100 per device, with an average of $1,000 stolen from each victim. On average, each skimmer represents a $100,000 threat to consumers.
Travelers can take the following steps to avoid skimmers at gas stations:
• Pay in cash inside the store to ensure credit card information stays safe.
• Check to make sure the gas pump dispenser cabinet is closed and has not been tampered with. Many stations are now putting a piece of security tape over the cabinet to ensure it has not been opened by unauthorized individuals.
• Use a gas pump closer to the front of the store. Thieves often place skimmer at the gas pumps farther away from the store so they are not noticed as quickly.
• Use a credit card instead of a debit card. Credit cards have better fraud protection, and the money is not deducted immediately from an account.
• If using a debit card at the pump, choose to run it as a credit card instead of putting a PIN number in. That way, the PIN number is safe.
• Monitor bank accounts regularly to spot any unauthorized charges.
• Consumers who suspect their credit card number has been compromised should report it immediately to authorities and their credit card company.
During legislative session, Commissioner Putnam worked with Senator Anitere Flores and Representative Dana Young to better protect consumers from identity theft at gas pumps. The new law, which goes into effect Oct. 1, adds another layer of security on pumps to prevent skimmers and toughens penalties against the criminals responsible by:
• Requiring self-service fuel dispensers to use certain security measures to prevent theft of consumer financial information.
• Increasing enforcement authority against those who possess or traffic fraudulent credit cards.
• Reclassifying the crime of unlawful conveyance of fuel, which increases the maximum sentence.
• Increasing the offense level of the crime, which affects sentencing guidelines.
Consumers who suspect that a gas pump has been tampered with should contact the gas station manager, local law enforcement or the department’s consumer protection and information hotline at 1-800-HELP-FLA (435-7352) or, for Spanish speakers, 1-800-FL-AYUDA (352-9832).
The department regularly inspects Florida’s more than 8,000 gas stations and analyzes samples of petroleum products to ensure consumers are being offered quality products at a fair measure. For more information, visit FreshFromFlorida.com.
