Good News: A ring of Gas Pump Skimmers, who were stealing credit card numbers all over the valley have been caught. Police allege that Osniel Tumbarell, Ruban Rivera, and Alian Bana-Garcia engaged in a comple scheme at multiple stations to steal numbers.
LVMPD says the suspects either placed or removed a scanning device, otherwise known as a “skimmer,” in the gas pump’s internal mechanism. Using the skimmer, they were able to capture the numbers of those using the machine and distribute them or use them personally for fraudulent charges.
The Metropolitan Police Department’s financial crimes unit has recovered over 100 skimmers so far this year.
According to Metro Detective Jeff Grace said fraudsters are able to draw between $2,000 and $5,000 from each card. With each skimmer getting an average of 400 swipes, a fraudster can pocket up to $2 million with one device.
Officials say it’s hard to know if the gas station pump has been tampered with. So the best thing a card user can do is to keep track of their money and look over their statements.
According to Channel 13 news, one person scammed by this operation was Victoria Anne Wagenhauser who had a $100.00 charge on her account from this operation.
Police advise not using a debit card to buy gas, but with more and more people using only debit cards, this is harder to do.
