See How Many Credit Card Skimmers Have Been Found At Arizona Gas Pumps

Technology advancements have made it very easy for thieves to steal credit card information at the gas pumps.

Criminals can attach gas skimmers inside of the gas pump. This will allow them to collect credit card data as people swipe their cards and in turn, make fake credit cards with that data.

12 News reported that Arizona saw the highest number of skimmers in 2019. Kevin Allen, associate director for the Arizona Department of Agriculture's Weights and Measures Services Division, said, "We peaked at 209 skimmers that were found or reported to our division."

Thankfully, there have been no skimmers reported to Allen's department so far in 2022. Allen said, "That's pretty awesome."

Allen says it's a pretty big deal to now have any reports so far this year. He explained, "I’ve heard data that for each skimmer that’s captured, it can be up to $24,000 a criminal can make off of it. If they didn’t do that, the shift for liability on fraudulent transactions goes from the payment card company to the retailer at that point."

Allen says that you should always double-check the terminals before inserting or tapping your card. Allen said, “If there’s anything that looks unusual, or looks like the device has been tampered with, report that to local law enforcement."