After sweeping 75-hundred gas stations across the state, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Service officials have uncovered 103 skimmers, which steal credit or debit card information from people paying for their gas at the pump.
Since skimmers are placed inside the pump cabinet, Department spokesman Aaron Keller says they can be hard to detect. But he says there are a few things consumers can do to protect themselves—such as using the pump closest to the gas station door.
“Usually the thieves are less likely to put a skimmer on one that’s close to the door and so those are usually the safest pumps to use,” Keller says.
Keller says some stations place a tape seal on the cabinet. He recommends using a different pump if that seal is broken, or he says paying inside is another way to avoid skimmers.
