Credit card numbers, pins stolen at S. Tahoe gas station
Anyone who has used a credit or debit card at the Safeway gas station in South Lake Tahoe may be a victim of fraud.
South Lake Tahoe police officers found a skimming device Feb. 13 at the station on Highway 50. A tip to the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office that was forwarded to the police led to the discovery.
A skimming device was found at the South Lake Tahoe Safeway gas station. Photo/LTN
“The victim’s credit card information was stolen using a skimmer. A skimmer is a device that it used to steal credit card information,” a press release from SLTPD says. “Skimming can occur when a third party card reading device is installed by an identity thief, either out¬side or inside a fuel dispenser or other card-swiping terminal. This device allows the thief to capture a customer’s credit and debit card information, including their PIN, with each card swipe.”
Officers suggest any who purchased fuel at the station this month to monitor their credit card statements. They said there is more than one victim.
If you have any information about the suspect or if have been a victim of this type of fraud, call (530) 542.6100 or Secret Witness at (530) 541.6800.
— Lake Tahoe News staff report
Wish I knew what pump it was on.
I agree. Which pump? A photo of the device connected to the pump would also help us know what to look for at the pump. These are the worse types of criminals in my opinion and should be cast from society for a long time.
I think it should be standard operating procedure to check the pumps for such devices-more than once a day. The check could occur at the beginning and end of shifts. One more time, the consumer is the victim of irresponsibility by the proprietor.
As mentioned in the article, if you have used your debit or credit card at this station in the last month or so, please check your account for fraudulent charges. The sooner they are discovered and brought to the attention of your bank, the sooner it can be dealt with.
Do it now!
Bad news for Lake Tahoe. Apparently these skimming devices can be installed inside the pumps so that you would never notice it. Some skimmers use wireless technology that a gas station’s central computer uses to collect all transaction data from the pumps; they can literally sit in a vehicle with a wireless unit and a computer and collect credit card data as transactions are made.
It would be interesting to know what sort of fraudulent purchases these crooks are making once they stole the credit card info, so folks can keep an eye on their credit card transactions.
I have gassed up at the Safeway station 5-6 times since they bought Fox, and have not had a single good experience there. It’s either staff, computers or slow pumps every time. Yesterday, I went in at 3:50 (says so on the receipt) and gave them $65 in cash for gas. The lady at the counter said “wait for Club Card disc. Etc etc…push white button 10 seconds etc etc…” I did all that and still did not get any disc. (We have a VIP Elite Memebrship…which we get .10 off no matter what we spend at Safeway). I went in to tell her and she had no idea what I was talking about and said to wait while they called a manager. I had a 5 yr old in the back seat and had to go, so I asked for a refund to get going. I left there at 4:15 (on the new receipt) with no gas and a wasted 25 mins. Have also waited excessive minutes for pumps to authorize, employees to deal with frozen computers and so on. On top of it all, every other Safeway gas station I’ve been to (Placerville, Dixon, Oakland), has been a decent discount compared to other local gas prices. Not this one. It’s more than 7/11! Didn’t take Safeway long to learn the gouging practices of the SLT gas station community. Yesterday was my last day to go to the SLT Safeway Gas station. So the card skimmer doesn’t surprise me one bit, taking into acct the way that place is being run.