The Mount Pleasant Police Department is partnering with Gas Service Station Businesses to intercept and stop fraudulent activity at gas pumps. Many stations in town have been extremely receptive to a proactive response to a nationwide epidemic in the use of “credit card skimmers.”
Credit card skimmers have been found at various locations in the city over the past several years as this problem has continued to grow.
Credit card skimmers are devices that can be covertly placed inside a gas pump or over the outside of a credit card reader capturing digital data off credit cards. Data “skimmed” off a credit card could be used in unauthorized activity on a victim’s credit card.
When a person has a credit card skimmed they may find fraudulent activity on their credit card bill days or even months later. This burden causes financial havoc, can be a form of identity theft, brings distrust to businesses and causes banks to lose money.
Service stations that participate will have a police department sticker placed on each of their gas pumps telling thieves “THESE PUMPS ARE SUBJECT TO INSPECTION FOR CARD SKIMMERS.” This sticker lets criminals know the police department actively works with the business inspecting gas pumps for illegal skimming devices. These inspections include the internal components where some skimming devices have been found.
Police Chief Wayne Isbell said; “Although we know this department response may not stop all illegal skimming of credit cards, we hope our inspections will cause criminals to bypass our community before attempting such activity.”
Mid America Flight Museum provided an endowment for the project. With their generous donation of staff and equipment we were able to get the stickers printed and are moving quickly to install them at gas service stations who have already joined our efforts to reduce crime in our city.
If you’re a gas service station business owner/manager and want to participate in this program go online and fill out an application atwww.mpcity.net/police/
Credit card skimmers have been found at various locations in the city over the past several years as this problem has continued to grow.
Credit card skimmers are devices that can be covertly placed inside a gas pump or over the outside of a credit card reader capturing digital data off credit cards. Data “skimmed” off a credit card could be used in unauthorized activity on a victim’s credit card.
When a person has a credit card skimmed they may find fraudulent activity on their credit card bill days or even months later. This burden causes financial havoc, can be a form of identity theft, brings distrust to businesses and causes banks to lose money.
Service stations that participate will have a police department sticker placed on each of their gas pumps telling thieves “THESE PUMPS ARE SUBJECT TO INSPECTION FOR CARD SKIMMERS.” This sticker lets criminals know the police department actively works with the business inspecting gas pumps for illegal skimming devices. These inspections include the internal components where some skimming devices have been found.
Police Chief Wayne Isbell said; “Although we know this department response may not stop all illegal skimming of credit cards, we hope our inspections will cause criminals to bypass our community before attempting such activity.”
Mid America Flight Museum provided an endowment for the project. With their generous donation of staff and equipment we were able to get the stickers printed and are moving quickly to install them at gas service stations who have already joined our efforts to reduce crime in our city.
If you’re a gas service station business owner/manager and want to participate in this program go online and fill out an application atwww.mpcity.net/police/
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