Buy gas at this station? Police warn of skimmer scheme

VANCOUVER, Wash. - People who bought gas at a Vancouver convenience store should watch their credit, police said.

Police said a technically savvy thief has been at work at the 7-Eleven on East Fourth Plain Boulevard and 57th by stealing people’s credit card numbers with a device called a skimmer (pictured).

Police said a credit card skimmer was wired right into the system. The device intercepts credit card information when a customer swipes a card to buy gasoline.

Usually thieves put the devices on the outside of gas pumps or ATMs, but this one was concealed inside the pump and wasn’t discovered until a service technician opened it up.

Margret Chabris, a 7-Eleven spokeswoman, said, “We have no indication that it was one of our employees or service providers. We don’t know how or who placed it in there. We’re leaving that up to the police.”

Police said they are trying to figure out whether the device was in the pump for days or months and who put it there.

Vancouver police said they are investigating whether there’s any stolen information on the scanner and whether information has been downloaded from it.

Police are asking people who’ve used that gas station to look for any fraudulent charges to their accounts in the last several months.

Chabris, the 7-Eleven spokeswoman, said the company had technicians check pumps at all their other stores in the area and no other skimmers were found.