A Henryetta man found out too late that he was the victim of a “skimmer” when he tried to fill up a a local gas station.
Mike Sergeant said he put his card into the pump as he has done several times and was prompted for his PIN number. After entering it, the card was declined. Thinking he made a mistake, he entered it a second time and got the same result.
Those few seconds were all it took for criminals to get his card number and later use it twice for $92 each time.
“I didn’t know about it until I tried to use it Sunday when I was in Yukon and it was declined,” he said. A check with his bank revealed his account was pinged for $1 two times and the charges made. “The bank cancelled my card and I am getting a provisional credit to my account.”
The charges were said to have been made by Midwest Farmers in Clinton Oklahoma. He looked for that company and said there is no good phone number for them.
Since that happened to him, he talked with others and found out one person had been billed four times for similar amounts.
Skimmers are devices attached to a card reader at a gas pump or ATM machine. It will read the magnetic strip on the card and either record it or send the information to a person sitting in a vehicle a short distance away. If the information is recorded, the criminals will return to the scene and remove the skimmer and download the information.
sealThe government said there are some precautions customers need to take to avoid having their cards compromised.
Before using the card reader at a gas pump, make sure the gas pump panel is closed and doesn’t show signs of tampering. Many stations now put security seals over the cabinet panel. If the pump panel is opened, the label will read "void."skimmer comparison
Looking at the card reader itself could save some lost money. If it looks different than others, it may be a skimmer. If in doubt, try to wiggle the card reader first. It if moves, report it to the store owner or attendant.
Another way to defeat the skimmers is to use the Bluetook search feature on a cell phone. 
If a sequence of letters and numbers show up don’t pay at the pump. One of the pumps has a credit card skimmer inside of it. All of these skimmers run on bluetooth.
Using a debit card at the pump, run it as a credit card instead of entering a PIN. That way, the PIN is safe and the money isn’t deducted immediately from your account.
If you’re really concerned about skimmers, pay inside rather than at the pump.
Monitor your credit card and bank accounts regularly to spot unauthorized charges.
If your credit card has been compromised, report it to your bank or card issuer. Federal law limits your liability if your credit, ATM, or debit card is lost or stolen, but your liability may depend on how quickly you report the loss or theft.