ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Hundreds of people drive in and out of gas stations each day, some not thinking they are at risk of being scammed.
Shakhea Hinton is one of them.
Last week, she stopped at a Speedway gas station on Fairbanks Avenue to fill up her tank with $30 worth of gas.
Days later, she learned she paid much more than that.
“I get an alert on my phone that said (there was) an overdraft from my bank,” Hinton said.
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Hinton wondered how that could be possible. She said the last transaction she made on her card was at the gas station, but her bank statement showed she was charged $747.20 by the insurance company Geico.
Hinton has a car insurance policy with Progressive, so she called Geico looking for answers.
“Geico said, ‘Ma’am, we don’t have an active policy with you,’” Hinton said. “The woman on the phone said that it was already on the news that people were getting scammed at the pump, and so she said since I can’t find an active policy with you, I’m afraid this might be fraud,” Hinton said.
News 6 reporter Treasure Roberts reached out to a representative for the gas station and asked if any other customers made a complaint.
They declined to comment.
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has removed 5,500 skimmers since 2015.
FDACS suggests drivers protect themselves by paying for gas with a credit card, paying inside instead of at the pump, and by signing up for fraud alerts through their bank.
Hinton didn’t swipe her card at the pump. She used the tap-to-pay feature.
According to fraud management company Datavisor, contactless cards are mostly resistant to traditional skimming techniques, but sophisticated criminals have found ways to exploit vulnerabilities in contactless card systems.
From now on, Hinton said she will play it extra safe.
“Today was my first day filling up since last week. My motive now is to go inside and pay for gas,” Hinton said.
Customers who suspect that a gas pump has been tampered with should contact the gas station manager and file a complaint with FDACS.
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