Gas stations that have pay-at-the-pump features can be incredibly convenient. However, as one QuikTrip customer’s discovery reinforced, they can occasionally come with a terrible price.
A TikTok that creator Hamm (@catt_datty) posted on Saturday has received over 5.8 million views and shows a customer pumping gas at a QuikTrip. Mid-pump, he’s able to pull off a device that fits over a credit card reader. It appears to be, and the creator asserts that it is, a skimmer—a device used by thieves to capture credit card numbers.
The short video shows a hand reaching out and pulling the device off the credit card reader built into the pump. A man’s voice then gruffly assesses, “Look at this sh*t,” before uttering an additional swear word to close out the short video.
The caption reads simply, “Skimmer at a QT.”
@catt_datty skimmer at a qt.
♬ original sound – Hamm
More about skimmers
A Forbes article from November explaining what a skimmer is noted, “Thieves will later recover and use this information to make fraudulent purchases. Skimmers can usually be spotted by doing quick visual or physical inspections before swiping or inserting a card.”
The article adds that skimmers are most commonly found at ATMs and gas stations. In other words, where people are making quick in-and-out transactions, sometimes in places they don’t normally frequent. However, retail stores can also sometimes host skimmers.
It also advises to look for alignment issues with a card reader before using it, and if you’re concerned about one being on a gas pump, look at a neighboring pump to see if its card reader is similar or if there’s a telltale difference.
“Gas pumps should have a security tape or sticker over the cabinet panel,” it offered. “If the tape looks ripped or broken, avoid using the card reader because a thief may have tampered with it. Try looking inside the card reader to see if anything is already inserted—if there is, it may be a thin plastic circuit board that can steal card information.”
What commenters thought
Commenters added their observations about the devices, including suggestions about how to circumvent them.
“I always pull on the [card reader] to make sure it is not a fake,” one suggested.
Another asserted, “I use tap and pay,” adding, “I never use my card in those because you never know.”
“Just tap phone to avoid the card reader,” someone else chimed in.
One suggested that tap and pay isn’t a fail-safe to prevent skimming. They suggested, “Use RFID to protect your tap when someone bumps into you with a scanner.”
However, an article from Waukesha State Bank said, “The risk of fraud occurring during a tap-and-pay transaction is minimal. Some people purchase RFID-blocking wallets to protect their cards, but the Identity Theft Resource Center states that this is an unnecessary — and often expensive — precaution.” It went on to say that online fraud or data breaches are more likely ways to fall prey to identity theft.
The Daily Dot has reached out to the creator via TikTok comment and to QuikTrip via email.
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