Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam is warning drivers about credit card skimmers at the pump.
Skimmers often cover right over the slot where drivers enter their card to pay for gas, skimming information off the card and sometimes even the PIN. The state has found and removed 276 skimmers so far this year. Florida Retail Association spokesman James Miller said a growing population and the large number of tourists make the state ripe for skimming.
There are some seven thousand gas stations in Florida, said Miller, making enforcement tough for the state. So Miller’s association urges gas station owners to check pumps for tampering three times a day.
“Once a gas station gets hit with a skimmer, they’re then branded,” said Miller. “Especially local people will pick up on it, and people will be hesitant to go to that gas station for a while if ever again.”
Drivers are urged to pay for gas with cash, avoid pumps far from the front of the store, which makes it difficult for clerks and cameras to catch any tampering, and check the pump for signs of tampering.
Anyone suspecting a pump has been tampered with should contact the gas station manager and local law enforcement.