San Antonio Police and the U.S. Secret Service are cracking down on so called 'credit card skimmers,' which have been popping up at gas stations around the area with alarming regularity, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Skimmers are devices which a thief slides into the slot on the gas pump where you put in your credit card. Customers frequently don't even notice the skimmer in the slot, and the devices allow the thief...who is often sitting in a car nearby, to electronically read your car number.
Special Agent Paul Duran says the reason skimmers are so popular among thieves is the corner store gas station is often the last place were a credit card has to be swiped, instead of inserted with the chip.
"They don't have to be compliant with the chip technology until 2020, so the fraudsters are actually going the easiest route," he said.
The Secret Service is helping educate convenience store operators on how to protect themselves and their customers against fraudulent devices
."In 2018, already in the San Antonio area, we are already up to seven skimmer devices seized," Duran said. "We know this is a growing trend."