During an audit at a busy Phillips 66 I found a card reader that was open. The pump was pump #2. There were 8 pumps at the location. It was a Phillips 66 located in an industrial, working class part of the city. I told the manager. He checked and found a skimmer. I remained after I was done with the audit. About 40 minutes later a detective arrived. He looked at the skimmer and I heard him tell the manager that it was not Bluetooth enabled. I learned from the detective that the thieves typically place the skimmers in the pumps that are hardest to see by the cashiers inside the store. There will be two thieves and they will pull up to the pump they choose to install a skimmer. They usually install them after 7pm or dusk. One theif will go inside the store and buy something and distract the store staff while the 2nd thief uses a universal key to unlock the pump, installs the skimmer in 5-10 minutes, then closes and locks the card reader. The detective thought that the theives were interupted before they could close and lock the card reader door, which is why the door was unlocked. The manager of this store did not bother to have staff check the card readers in the morning so it may have been opened for some time.
So the tip I got is to fuel at a pump that is in a direct line of sight to the cashier in the store, as the thieves avoid the pumps that are easy to see. If there are 8 dispensers under the canopy, and if the canopy/fuel island is situated parellel to the c-store, pumps 1/2 and 15/16 would be the pumps most likely to be chosen by thieves to install skimmers.
Please share any tips. Now I appreciate why the clients want to know about the security tape. When the independent owners of these stations have to pay the fraudulent charges (which they don't have to pay) they will start doing a better job protecting customers.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/04/2015 08:23PM by jilummer.