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Florida Gas Stations Home For Skimmers BEWARE!


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​TALLAHASSEE, Fla. December 15, 2017; The NACS reported that from January to October of this year, more than 500 card skimmers have been uncovered on gasoline pumps in Florida—double over the past two years together, WJXT-TV reports.

The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Service says one skimming device will siphon off the data from around 100 credit or debit cards and cost each victim an average of $1,000 in losses before being discovered. With skimmers increasing shrinking in size, finding them can be difficult.

“[The criminals are] often pretty good at masking them,” said Jack Campbell, a state attorney for the 2nd Judicial Circuit. Earlier this year, Florida lawmakers went after people with skimming devices in their possession or for sale as well. Now, those involved in skimming can receive up to 15 years if convicted, while possession of a skimmer device is illegal. “It's illicit in its own right, which allows us to shut it down before people are compromised,” Campbell said.

So far in 2017, skimmers have been uncovered in 42 Florida counties, according to the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. NACS and Conexxus both have resources available online related to skimming and payments security. For more information about Conexxus, go to www.conexxus.org.