Data Breaches Uncovered at Gas Stations
Another day, another data breach. Visa recently sent out a warning to consumers that anyone who pumps gas could be at risk. According to Visa, their fraud protection department uncovered separate breaches at two fuel dispenser merchants. When customers swipe their cards at a gas station, “scraping” software — secretly installed by criminal groups — intercepts credit card information in instances where a customer is not using a pin code or a chip. Even when customers have credit card chips, a gas station may not have the newer technology, effectively putting their customers at major risk. Visa is planning to tackle this by putting the responsibility on gas station owners. By October 2020, merchants will be responsible for any customer fraud incurred as a result of not having chip-enabled technology in their pumps.
So how should consumers protect themselves from fraud in the meantime? According to Fox 61, there are ways to limit the risk and to protect your money.
- Don’t use a debit card linked to your bank account. If a hacker gets access to your debit card, you may never get back the money you lose.
- Get a chip-enabled card as soon as possible.
- Don’t use card readers that only accept a magnetic stripe, if possible.
- Check your credit card transactions regularly to screen for fraudulent charges.
- Set up alerts. You can set up a notification when any charge is made, or limit notifications to potential fraud only.
Most importantly, be aware. Consumers need protection more than ever and there are many opportunities to ensure that you’re not being victimized. Whether it’s fraud, or misrepresentation, or simply unfair billing practices, there are systems in place to help consumers achieve financial health. If you think you are overpaying on your monthly bills like cable, internet or wireless, contact Billshark and we will lower them in minutes.