Arrived home last night and on my voice mail there was a message from the Credit Card company, my card had some strange charges on it and could I call and confirm them. Well I called them and found out that the card had been used to make three charges in England for $1500.00. I explaned to them that I had just moved to Florida and had not been in England.
While I had to file paper work with them to take care of this, they were very good about it and I learned something new.

Skimmers are a chip which people put in the gas pumps when no one is looking, since the keys on the credit card locks are not that good.
They put the chip in and come back after a few days and take it out, anyone who has used that pump has now given them their credit card info. Which they can now use.

I thought when I was driving down that it was a great just to use the card at the pump, now I only pay cash or go inside to charge it.

I hope this has not happened to anyone else, but now you have been warned.

Mike.

 

wow....I pay at the pump all the time!....I be sure and Inspect the swiper..Thanks for lookin out for us!

 

The same thing can happen at ATMs. http://www.snopes.com/fraud/atm/atmcamera.asp has some more info and pictures of how it is done.

Basically, if you do use your card at an ATM or any other automated point like a gas pump, try to go to the same places, and be cautious if anything has changed since your last visit. Since this came out, the biggest problem has been with quick hits, where the device is only on the machine for a few people. The crooks know the banks and such are watching for these now, so they don't risk leaving them in place as long.