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Tuesday, April 17, 2018

Credit card cloners increase activity at South Florida gas stations

Por LOR

Card cloning experiences a rise in South Florida fuel dispensers. Officials suggest that if you are in a hurry or prefer the convenience of paying at the gas station, choose one in full view of the gas station attendant. Criminals tend to install the devices in more distant bombs. Try hard not to experience this theft.

Florida's fuel pumps have discovered a dizzying number of devices to clone credit cards, which have become increasingly sophisticated. The new technology has allowed criminals to install the devices inside the gas pumps and retrieve information remotely from their cell phones, said Aaron Keller of the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). "It's a kind of rat race," he said. "We are trying to stay one step ahead."

Most consumers discover when their credit card companies freeze their accounts. And this is happening more frequently. State inspectors are working to evaluate devices to clone cards this year on about 1,000 gas pumps throughout Florida. More than 650 pumps last year and almost 220 in 2016. Already this year almost 200 devices have been found to clone cards in South Florida. Broward had 112, Palm Beach, 54 and Miami-Dade 18. Most card cloning scams are part of an organized criminal enterprise, Keller said. Once your credit card information is obtained, duplicate cards are made and used or sold by criminals.

Thieves now face up to 15 years in prison if they are caught using these devices. But this has not prevented them from finding new ways to obtain personal information. They used to place devices to clone cards with false fronts in the credit card slots on the outside of gas pumps. That evolved to enter the bombs, install the devices inside and recover them later. Then, the devices were placed inside the gas pump and the vital data was downloaded wirelessly to the criminals stationed nearby.

"The latest version of that is that we're finding cell-enabled cloning devices that send the information stolen from the credit card live, in real time, while it's being stolen," Keller said. "So that the criminals do not have to return it [to the bomb]." Bowman said more cloning devices are being found because the industry, state inspectors and local police are combining efforts. The old pumps are the most vulnerable, so the oil companies are helping the owners of the gas stations to replace them.

"In general, Florida has been very proactive," Bowman said. "Everyone is on the same page and working towards the same goal." According to experts, the best way to protect yourself is to pay in cash or with a credit card inside the service station instead of at the pump. Nor should debit cards be used because criminals can empty your bank account with that information and debit cards do not have the same protection against theft as credit cards.