Rampant credit card skimming in Baton Rouge gas stations. (Crowley: home, buy)

[Rosinante]

Just a warning to those of you who pay at the pump, credit card skimming on gas pumps is widespread in the southern part of town. I have had FOUR credit cards compromised since last March, and each time it was after purchasing gas and paying for it at the pump at several stations along Burbank Drive between LSU and Bluebonnet. A friend has also had four cards compromised, but in other parts of town.

I called the station where my card was skimmed yesterday, 10-22-2019, and spoke to the manager. His reply was, "Not again!" so it is clear that the stations know this is happening. Better to go inside than pay at the pump.

[goodluckwiththat]

Originally Posted by Rosinante

Just a warning to those of you who pay at the pump, credit card skimming on gas pumps is widespread in the southern part of town. I have had FOUR credit cards compromised since last March, and each time it was after purchasing gas and paying for it at the pump at several stations along Burbank Drive between LSU and Bluebonnet. A friend has also had four cards compromised, but in other parts of town.

I called the station where my card was skimmed yesterday, 10-22-2019, and spoke to the manager. His reply was, "Not again!" so it is clear that the stations know this is happening. Better to go inside than pay at the pump.

Cash is king. They don't say it for nothing.

[adelphi_sky]

Originally Posted by Rosinante

Just a warning to those of you who pay at the pump, credit card skimming on gas pumps is widespread in the southern part of town. I have had FOUR credit cards compromised since last March, and each time it was after purchasing gas and paying for it at the pump at several stations along Burbank Drive between LSU and Bluebonnet. A friend has also had four cards compromised, but in other parts of town.

I called the station where my card was skimmed yesterday, 10-22-2019, and spoke to the manager. His reply was, "Not again!" so it is clear that the stations know this is happening. Better to go inside than pay at the pump.

I know a few gas stations have added their mobile app pay system. For example, at Exxon, I can pay with my phone. I don't think shell or BP has moved to a mobile pay system yet. Also, gas stations SHOULD be switching to a chip card system which renders skimming useless. But of course, US companies are always slow to upgrade.

[sluggermatt15]

Thank you for informing us regarding skimming. I had this happen to me once at a gas station in Crowley.

[Rosinante]

As the originator of this thread, it gives me pleasure to say that the two major gas stations I use have not had issues with skimming since I mentioned this eleven months ago.

Unfortunately, paying cash at the pump is not possible at any stations I know of in my part of town. As I am handicapped, I choose to pay at the pump so that I do not have to walk inside the station.

[VAF84]

I got skimmed at the Port Allen Shell by the Autozone around the time of the big freeze this year. They tried to order a laptop via Best Buy and ship it to a nearby Hampton Inn. Luckily it got flagged before it was shipped.

[Rosinante]

Lucky for you VAF84.

I have been scammed twice by phone in the past 10 days or so. It has been the same group doing this since they want me to call a bogus phone number and let their reps check it out for you.

[Wartrace]

I buy my gas at Kroger's gas station in town and they switched to EMV card readers last year. It is my understanding that an emv reader is much harder to hack with a skimmer since it reads the "chip" on a card rather than the magnetic strip.

I can't always find a station with emv readers so another safeguard I use is a daily review of my credit card account. I caught something a year or two ago and shut down the account before they charged anything over 5 bucks; everything worked out fine. I had a new card in hand in five days. I keep a small amount of cash at home to cover little things so it wasn't a problem.

[DeanGuitarist]

If only these scammers would put forth this kind of energy into getting a real job.....

[annie_himself]

Originally Posted by DeanGuitarist

If only these scammers would put forth this kind of energy into getting a real job.....

One that pays far less?
No difference between these guys and Jeff Bezos.