MasterCard and Visa recently announced that the deadline for the installation of EMV chip card readers on gas pumps is being delayed three years to October 1, 2020.  Credit card rules required new EMV smart chip credit card equipment be installed by retailers to process these cards by October 1, 2015 in order for the retailer to avoid liability.   Wider implementation of the use of EMV chip cards at retailers has resulted in a dramatic reduction in data breaches and credit card fraud at retailers using this equipment.   However, the deadline for the installation of EMV chip card readers at gas pumps was originally scheduled for October 1, 2017.  Now it is being delayed three years.   Around the country there has been an increase in the use of skimmers installed by criminals at gas pumps.  Skimmers are small electronic devices that are easily installed by an identity thief on gas pumps,  ATMs and other card reading devices.  The skimmer steals all of the information from the credit card or debit card used which then permits the identity thief to use that information to access the victim’s bank account when the skimmer is used on a debit card.  If a credit card is used, the identity thief can use the stolen information to access the victim’s credit card account.  Each skimmer can hold information on as many as 2,400 cards.

TIPS

Always look for signs of tampering on any machine you use to swipe your credit card or debit card.  If the card inserting mechanism appears loose or in any other way tampered, don’t use it.   Debit cards, when compromised through a skimmer put the customers at risk of having the bank accounts tied to their cards entirely emptied if the theft is not promptly reported and even if the victim reports the theft immediately, the victims lose access to their bank accounts while the matter is investigated by the bank.  Skimmers at ATMs are often coupled with a thin, clear electronic device that goes on top of the keyboard to capture the victim’s PIN to enable the identity thief to access the account of the victim whose account number was captured through the skimmer.  Debit cards should not be used for purchases at gas pumps or for other retail purchases because the legal liability laws related to stolen debit card information are not as protective to consumers as the laws relating to fraudulent credit card use.  Although the deadline for installation of EMV chip card readers in ATMs passed in October, few ATMs have made the switch to EMV chip card equipment.