Credit card "skimmers"

[hlthe2b]

4. Happened to me at an outside gas pump at a very nice Safeway in northern Colorado at Thanksgiving

three years ago. Though the booth employee supposedly scans for skimmers every morning, I had the alarming experience of a call late on Thanksgiving evening from my credit union fraud group informing me my card had been hacked and was being used online. While they did immediately put a hold on it after calling me and I followed up with Target and some of the other online retailers who had accepted the card, it was a very trying holiday weekend, as I had little cash on me. My credit union was great and got the funds reversed back to me within the week and a new card that Monday morning, but I now NEVER swipe a card at an outside ATM or gas pump--using cash, instead. I do have chips in my cards now, but I'm still quite wary. I was told that some of the self-checkouts inside busy poorly observed stores (Sam's, Walmart, and others) had been targeted and this woman's account proves that.

Be careful. The consequences of this kind of crime can be "reversed," but it takes a lot of time to deal with and creates untold headaches. I did however get to spend an interesting time with Target's national security group supervisor(by phone on Thanksgiving evening, no less) who gave me some startling statistics and very useful tips on avoiding some of this (paying cash at the gas pumps is one of his most emphatic tips). He'd been called into the corporate offices on a holiday for something far more consequential but seemingly enjoyed sharing his experiences. I paid attention.