BajaNomad

Debit Card Fraud at Mexican Gas Stations

EnsenadaDr - 4-23-2013 at 10:33 AM

I was in the US and I got a call from my debit card company asking me if I made a purchase at Target in Chula Vista, CA (the Eastlake Target) for $233. I was shocked because I normally don't go to Target, and no I didn't make a purchase there. Normally, I get very upset at these calls when the Bank wants to verify purchases, but this time I was very grateful.

I did some investigation, and I spoke to the Eastlake Target. The Security Department told me not only did the person run the card at about 11:15 at night, but they tried to run it the next day. Because of the time of night, they were able to narrow down the purchaser on video, and told me that the store normally closes at 11 PM, but purchases can run over that time. Fortunately there weren't funds available for the second attempted purchase. They do have the suspect on video and I should get my money back after a 10 day dispute investigation.

How does this happen? The Security department at Target stated that typically gas stations have a credit card "skimmer" which takes the electronic information on the magnetic strip and then can be downloaded into a computer then put on generic magnetic strip cards that can be bought anywhere. The person even signed my name!!

NO more paying at Mexican gas stations with my card anymore, pure efectivo for my gas. You never think this can happen to you but it can. As a sidenote, I buy all my gas in Ensenada, and I hardly ever use my card in the US to buy gas.

[Edited on 4-23-2013 by EnsenadaDr]

[Edited on 4-23-2013 by EnsenadaDr]

tiotomasbcs - 4-23-2013 at 11:55 AM

Sounds like this is the newest scam. DTutko's post was similar, too. I just got bit earlier this month at a ATM Cajero at the new gas station in Guerrero Negro; outside the store. No dinero dispensed but it was withdrawn from my bank account! Fraud dep't is investigating at my bank. I know it has been talked about but only use Bank ATMs. Good luck all!:mad::cool: Tio

DENNIS - 4-23-2013 at 12:07 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by tiotomasbcs
Sounds like this is the newest scam. DTutko's post was similar, too. I just got bit earlier this month at a ATM Cajero at the new gas station in Guerrero Negro; outside the store. No dinero dispensed but it was withdrawn from my bank account! Fraud dep't is investigating at my bank. I know it has been talked about but only use Bank ATMs. Good luck all!:mad::cool: Tio


This has happened to me three or four times in the local grocery store ATMs....clickity clickity clickity....and nothing, and I've had no problem being reimbursed by my bank.....always immediate pending investigation.
Chase is my bank.[jes sayin'....not advertising]

rts551 - 4-23-2013 at 12:13 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by tiotomasbcs
Sounds like this is the newest scam. DTutko's post was similar, too. I just got bit earlier this month at a ATM Cajero at the new gas station in Guerrero Negro; outside the store. No dinero dispensed but it was withdrawn from my bank account! Fraud dep't is investigating at my bank. I know it has been talked about but only use Bank ATMs. Good luck all!:mad::cool: Tio


This is a very ld scam that has been happening in the US for quiet a while! There are precautions that are posted by your card provider that you should look for. The readers in Mexico are no different than the readers in the US.

monoloco - 4-23-2013 at 12:33 PM

It happened to us at the gas station in Jamul a few years ago.

DENNIS - 4-23-2013 at 12:44 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by monoloco
It happened to us at the gas station in Jamul a few years ago.


That's because it's owned by Iranians. :lol:

[Chaldeans...to be exact. And, I'm jes kiddin'. They're nice folks there]

monoloco - 4-23-2013 at 12:47 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
Quote:
Originally posted by monoloco
It happened to us at the gas station in Jamul a few years ago.


That's because it's owned by Iranians. :lol:

[Chaldeans...to be exact. And, I'm jes kiddin'. They're nice folks there]
Just don't let them take your credit card in the back room.

DENNIS - 4-23-2013 at 12:48 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by rts551
Quote:
Originally posted by tiotomasbcs
Sounds like this is the newest scam. DTutko's post was similar, too. I just got bit earlier this month at a ATM Cajero at the new gas station in Guerrero Negro; outside the store. No dinero dispensed but it was withdrawn from my bank account! Fraud dep't is investigating at my bank. I know it has been talked about but only use Bank ATMs. Good luck all!:mad::cool: Tio


This is a very ld scam that has been happening in the US for quiet a while!


In my cases, as well as Tio's, they seem to be more malfunction than scam.....perhaps a symptom of the typical maintenance in Mexico.

DENNIS - 4-23-2013 at 12:51 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by monoloco

Just don't let them take your credit card in the back room.


Or touch it with your bare hands when they return it. :o

DavidE - 4-23-2013 at 02:37 PM

Or worse yet, use your card in a BanComer cajero automatico. The scam is "legit" and you get socked SEVEN DOLLARS US per withdrawal. Just by Blanko Commercial. Add that to your bank's viggorish and then add the Mexican government's IVA. Added insult, games playing with the tipo de cambio.

If a Mexican bank should make a mistake and give me too much change, would I say something?

HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa......................

I'm chicken. Cash only from cajeros automaticos clamped tight to a bank branch....

Kgryfon - 4-23-2013 at 04:55 PM

Not isolated to Mexico - this happened to me in N. Ca. They went on a shopping spree that got halted at a Walmart when they tried to buy an $1800 TV. All in all they got about $1500 in goods and cash, but my bank credited me back immediately.

Not long after they all (there was a group of them working together) got arrested and eventually sent to jail.

These thieves attach a scanner to the normal slot where you slide your card, capture your card number and your passcode, and Bingo!

805gregg - 4-23-2013 at 05:26 PM

My card # was stolen in Catalina Island by a Latina woman and they charged $7500 in a Zales jewlery store in Tustin Ca, I only use cash now in Catalina

[Edited on 4-25-2013 by 805gregg]

mtgoat666 - 4-23-2013 at 06:55 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 805gregg
My card # was stolen in Catalina Island by a Latino woman and they charged $7500 in a Zales jewlery store in Tustin Ca, I only use cash now in Catalina


crikey! i quit using atm for retail transactions many, many years ago. with ccs giving you cash back for purchases, dont know why anyone use an atm for anything but a deposit or withdrawal transaction at a cash machine.

debit cards are at higher risk of theft, and it is harder to dispute transactions with bank.

why do any of you use debit card for store transactions? yikes! foolish!

cash or credit, or no sale to me!

p.s. what does ethnicity of thief matter?

[Edited on 4-24-2013 by mtgoat666]

baconjr - 4-30-2013 at 09:06 PM

Banamex USA has a service that is a checking account and has a cash card that is available only at their ATM's. Seeing that it isn't using VISA they don't have the charges exacted by VISA. Also you get the bank rate for exchange that is a more competitive exchange rate.

EnsenadaDr - 4-30-2013 at 09:12 PM

I was interested in Banamex USA, I will have to go in there and check it out.

Bajaboy - 4-30-2013 at 09:13 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DENNIS
Quote:
Originally posted by monoloco
It happened to us at the gas station in Jamul a few years ago.


That's because it's owned by Iranians. :lol:

[Chaldeans...to be exact. And, I'm jes kiddin'. They're nice folks there]


What a burro remark:lol:

I'm jes kiddin'....more like an ignorant one.....:light:

castaway$ - 4-30-2013 at 09:29 PM

Thats why I stick to cash in Mex, now they have a device that if you walk by them within 5-10 feet they can read your card and steal the data to be used later------cash,cash,cash!

Udo - 5-1-2013 at 07:39 AM

I am not sure, but I think such a reader theft works on the credit/debit cards that use the RFID system. Several banks in the US as well as Mexico have switched to that system.
Quote:
Originally posted by castaway$
Thats why I stick to cash in Mex, now they have a device that if you walk by them within 5-10 feet they can read your card and steal the data to be used later------cash,cash,cash!

nbacc - 5-1-2013 at 08:07 AM

Go cash! the only safe way

Ateo - 5-1-2013 at 08:29 AM

Here's a credit card skimmer that was pulled out of a dispenser at a station I was doing an inspection at. It's the long gray wire with black end that attaches to the back of the car reader.



[Edited on 5-1-2013 by Ateo]

DavidE - 5-1-2013 at 11:03 AM

The ribbon cable? Oh dumb me, how do the nice people retrieve the credit card data?

durrelllrobert - 5-1-2013 at 11:17 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Kgryfon
Not isolated to Mexico - this happened to me in N. Ca. They went on a shopping spree that got halted at a Walmart when they tried to buy an $1800 TV. All in all they got about $1500 in goods and cash, but my bank credited me back immediately.

Not long after they all (there was a group of them working together) got arrested and eventually sent to jail.

These thieves attach a scanner to the normal slot where you slide your card, capture your card number and your passcode, and Bingo!


Also not Baja except it all started when my wife ordered some prescription drugs over the internet from down here. Apparently the Canadian Drug company sold or otherwise allowed credit card info to go to a third party. That person, or persons, then used it to max out my card buying merchandise in the UK, hotels in Finland and Norway and airline ticket all over the place including Dubai and United Arab Emirates. Total $7500 before maxed out. Visa fraud division credited back all charges to my account except for international exchange fees that they claimed was out of their control but 3 months later they finally credited back those charges too.

EnsenadaDr - 5-1-2013 at 11:18 AM

How do they get in there to begin with and substitute for the legit ATM?

DavidE - 5-3-2013 at 12:36 PM

I'll make this slower

HOW

DO

THEY

RETRIEVE

THE

DATA

FROM

THE

MACHINE?

Kgryfon - 5-3-2013 at 09:36 PM

They come back at a later and collect their equipment, which has recorded all the information. That's usually when they get caught (if they get caught).

Ateo - 5-3-2013 at 09:39 PM

They open the dispenser with a ^^^^^ (edited) key.

[Edited on 5-4-2013 by Ateo]

Kgryfon - 5-3-2013 at 09:40 PM

...and they don't substitute the whole ATM, they just add a piece to the place where you slide your card. Stick it right over the top of the existing reader.

Here's a link:
http://consumerist.com/2009/04/19/heres-what-a-card-skimmer-...

Ateo - 5-3-2013 at 09:41 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by DavidE
I'll make this slower

HOW

DO

THEY

RETRIEVE

THE

DATA

FROM

THE

MACHINE?


Wirelessly if they're sophisticated or by retrieving the device by opening the pump.

Ateo - 5-3-2013 at 09:46 PM

This is not rocket science. If a thief wants to open the pump, they can open the pump. It's easier than opening your car door, times a thousand.

Having said this, there's not a whole lot you can do so just buy gas and check your statements.

EnsenadaDr - 5-4-2013 at 04:03 AM

It's not rocket science for someone like you that is authorized to open the machine. But if they see you opening it and you don't have authorization...it would pose a huge problem.
Quote:
Originally posted by Ateo
Quote:
Originally posted by DavidE
I'll make this slower

HOW

DO

THEY

RETRIEVE

THE

DATA

FROM

THE

MACHINE?


Wirelessly if they're sophisticated or by retrieving the device by opening the pump.

woody with a view - 5-4-2013 at 06:55 AM

we just transfered all our accounts from wells fargo to mission federal credit union. we got the new cards in the mail and started making purchases. suddenly i'm getting calls from the fraud division saying there are purchases in AZ an CA at the same time!!! i asked them if it has ever happened, in their professional opinion, that one person might be working or traveling in another state while the spouse was at home? they were insistent that i need to inform them a week before making a purchase outside of CA!!! WTF? now i gotta ask permission to spend my own money? :fire:

Ateo - 5-4-2013 at 08:19 AM

Sorry if I sounded like a jerk in the above statement. I think most of these thieves come in at night and open a pump that is hard to see from the cashiers vantage point. So I guess one could only pump on a dispenser that is clearly visible to reduce ones rish of getting their info stolen.
Quote:
Originally posted by EnsenadaDr
It's not rocket science for someone like you that is authorized to open the machine. But if they see you opening it and you don't have authorization...it would pose a huge problem.
Quote:
Originally posted by Ateo
Quote:
Originally posted by DavidE
I'll make this slower

HOW

DO

THEY

RETRIEVE

THE

DATA

FROM

THE

MACHINE?


Wirelessly if they're sophisticated or by retrieving the device by opening the pump.

DavidE - 5-4-2013 at 08:58 AM

I can understand a gas pump but how about bank ATM machines? The only ones I use to extract cash. When I pay my monthly bill at the grocery store here, the cashier takes my card, swipes it, flips it over reads then enters the 3-digit code on the reverse. This is a matter of TRUST. Now let's see, of all the businesses in Mexico you can think of WHICH ONES seems to have had HISTORICALLY an extremely low level of security and trust...?

And I am going to use a vulnerable financial access key there...?

Jajajajajajajajajajajajajajajajajajajajajajajajajajajajajajajajajajajajajajajajaja

I don't get it

Howard - 5-4-2013 at 09:03 AM

With so many bank ATM machines that one can withdraw peso's from, other than emergencies, why does one use any plastic in Mexico or most any other country other than your home country? I understand that fraud can and will happen anywhere but it is much easier to fix at home.

IMO, your just looking for trouble that can be avoided.

Good News!!

EnsenadaDr - 5-4-2013 at 08:19 PM

Got a pleasant surprise today when my newly issued debit card had the full refund of the amount stolen on my account, plus a credited Western Union Fee of $15 dollars American they initially charged me when they wired the left over amount still on my card to me after cancelling the card. This occurred before the 10 business days they told me I had to wait.

Thank you Bank of America!! No more debit card transactions anywhere if I can help it!!

Kgryfon - 5-4-2013 at 11:51 PM

I'm not sure anyone looked at the link I posted. They do not need to open the machine. They place a skimmer on top of the reader that is already there. It looks very innocent - like part of the original equipment.

http://consumerist.com/2009/04/19/heres-what-a-card-skimmer-...

Also, Woody, they were trying to do you a favor. You are a new customer. Usually people aren't in two places at one time making purchases. It's a red flag for fraud so they called you to double check that it was legitimate. If it hadn't been, wouldn't you have bee glad that they alerted you? I know this can be a pain - I've been on vacation and had my card frozen because of unusual purchases out of my normal area. Once they get a feel for what are "normal" transactions for you and your wife they won't flag it as a potential fraud alert anymore. Not saying the person at the other end of the phone couldn't have been more helpful/polite! The first time this happened to me I had to instruct the person on the other end of the line what was going on - they were clueless. I work in a bank which is why I knew. I had to go to the dept manager to get the freeze take off because the clerk had no idea what I was talking about. Anyway, once your new bank gets a profile on what is normal for you, you shouldn't have a problem anymore. If you do, talk to the manager.

Kgryfon - 5-4-2013 at 11:54 PM

Oh, what was even better was that they were calling my home phone...um, I was on vacation and not there to answer my home phone... Anyway, I do call and alert them when I go out if the states now so I don't get frozen again.

woody with a view - 5-5-2013 at 09:50 AM

i know they are trying to help but "i must call a week prior to using my card out of state" just seems ludicrous.

BornFisher - 8-1-2014 at 04:01 PM

So Monday and Tuesday (July 28th and 29th) I bought gas at the La Salina gas station and paid with a debit card. I came back to the USA on Wed., the 30th.. Thurs. (yesterday) I checked my account on line and see a charge from In and Out Burger, Chula Vista for $15 dated on the 29th.. Then I see another charge, this one for $390 at Safeway in Chula Vista also on the 29th. I cancelled the card and got credited for the amount of the 2 charges. I figure they tested the card by buying burgers, then went on a Safeway binge for food and booze. And didn`t use the card on the 30th because they were hungover!!
Anyway I made the mistake of handing my card and ID to the attendant. I thought it took 10 minutes to copy a card, my card was out of sight for about 4 or 5 minutes. Soooooooooooo.............. watch your cards folks!!

dasubergeek - 8-4-2014 at 10:00 AM

This is exactly the sort of crap the new chip cards will help prevent. There's a new chip coming on all of your credit and debit cards in the next year or so. You won't swipe the magnetic strip (though it'll still have one), you just insert the card, chip up, into the reader. The chips are very, very hard to crack--they've been in use in Europe for almost 20 years.

Of course, the best is chip and PIN, because then they have to be right there and you have to put in a PIN, so they can't disappear with the card anyway... but no, the U.S. has decided to go to chip and sign.

Right now, if there's fraud on a card, the bank is liable for it.

In October 2015, there's going to be a liability shift, spurred by Visa and Interbank (Mastercard). If fraud occurs on a credit card, who has to "eat" it will be determined by who has less advanced technology. If your card has a chip and the reader doesn't accept chips (or the chip wasn't used), the merchant has to cover the fraud. If the card isn't chipped but the reader is capable of reading chips, the bank still has to cover it. And if both the card and the reader can deal with chips, the bank will still cover it.