In the world of technology come a lot of things that consumers need to be mindful and watchful. A recent incident locally was the installation of a credit card skimmer at a local gas station. “Skimming is a type of credit card theft where crooks use a small device to steal credit card information in an otherwise legitimate credit or debit card transaction. When a credit or debit card is swiped through a skimmer, the device captures and stores all the details stored in the card’s magnetic strip,” according to Creditcards.com.
This credit card skimmer was discovered at pump #7 at the BP Station at 14043 State Road (the corner of Rt. 82 and State Road), by a service tech for BP gas stations. Although the time frame that the skimmer was installed has not yet been confirmed, it could have been in place since Friday, September 22. The manager of the station said that he began getting complaints from customers that pumps #6, #7 and #8 were not working properly when he came on shift on Saturday, September 23. He reported this to the owner, and they placed a service request. The service tech arrived on Tuesday, September 26, and the skimmer was found. He said that the last time he serviced the pump was about two months ago. The investigation continues and cameras are being reviewed.
This type of theft has been occurring all over the country. Recently, skimmers have been found in Medina, Richland and Ashland counties. With the level of sophistication of the technology, skimmers are as small as a thumb drive and very difficult to detect. Until fuel pumps are outfitted with chip readers, which is expected to be required by 2020, this practice will continue. Gas stations seem to be a popular target, due to the remoteness of the readers on the pumps.
Although there is no foolproof way to protect yourself, there are some things consumers can do to reduce the risk of becoming a victim:
• Look for any type of broken seal on the card reader. Jiggle and pull the card reader. Some victims have reported that, in hindsight, they remember the reader to have a strange feel to it. Thieves don’t spend time affixing the card reader back, once the skimmer has been installed.
• Don’t use the credit card at the pump and go inside to pay.
• Do not use the card reader at the pump if the security seal on the card reader is broken or if the word “void” appears on it.
• Use the pumps that are closest to the building and in sight of the clerk.
• Use a credit card, rather than a debit card, when paying.
Police advise residents who think they may have used that pump to monitor their credit. “I would not be surprised if you see less people using credit cards. This is a smaller picture of a bigger problem,” said North Royalton Detective David Loeding. There is a lot of fraud out there.”

By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer