Michigan Officials Discover Gas Pump, Credit Card Scam

While it is not uncommon to feel as though you are being ripped off at a gas station, especially when the price of fuel soars to the neighborhood of $4 per gallon, motorists now have to be concerned about being robbed blind every time they swipe their card at the pump.

Reports indicate that state investigators have discovered a number of gas pumps around Michigan armed with electronical devices that allow crooks to read your credit card. So far, about 15 card-reader rip-off-devices have been found after searching roughly 6,000 of the state's more than 100,000 pumps. Several  of them have been found in Genesee County, including a couple in Flint.

There are some precautions a person can take to protect themselves from this type of fraud:

Understand that pumps come with a security seal that is always replaced after an inspection by the State of Michigan Weights and Measures. If this seal is broken, it could indicate that the pump has been tampered with.

Use gas pumps that are easily monitored by clerks. It is more difficult for crooks to install these devices in plain sight.