LEXINGTON, Ky. – With the Fourth of July and peak summer travel season around the corner, state and local authorities are working with retailers to prevent thieves from stealing consumers’ data at motor fuel pumps. “This form of identity theft, known as card skimming, is exploding around the world,” said Ryan Quarles, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA). “Losses due to skimming are expected to exceed $3 billion globally this year. Kentucky Department of Agriculture inspectors are on the lookout for evidence of skimming to protect Kentucky consumers and businesses.”

As part of the annual pump inspection, KDA employees will look for signs that a pump has been compromised by thieves who install electronic devices to capture data from consumers’ credit cards. The data is used to produce fake credit cards and make fraudulent charges on the victim’s account. Inspectors shut down any pump that may have been tampered with and report the incident to law enforcement authorities.

Jason Glass, assistant director of the KDA’s Division of Regulation and Inspection, said card readers on fuel pumps are especially susceptible to tampering because pumps often are located out of sight of an attendant. He also said retailers are taking action to prevent credit card skimming by installing proprietary locks on pumps, using security tape to seal the pumps, and logging the numbers on the tape to make sure the seal hasn’t been broken and replaced. Some pumps shut down when they are entered unlawfully. Credit card companies are deploying technology to make credit cards harder to skim.

For more on skimming and gas stations, read “Secure Your Pumps” from the May issue of NACS Magazine. Additional skimming resources are also available at nacsonline.com/skimming.