Gas Station Pumps And the 'Clear' Button Email: A Real Solution?

Recently, a friend forwarded to me the email message below and asked if the solution suggested was valid. Perhaps you have seen this email too:

Subject: USE THE "CLEAR" BUTTON Using credit/debit card?

Read this note very carefully. I did not know about the clear button, but I will be pushing the clear button before I swipe my gas or debit card.

People are getting really desperate due to the constantly rising gas prices. A friend just told me about something that happened to one of his coworkers.. She used her credit/debit card to purchase gas at the pump (like most of us do). She received her receipt like normal.

However, when she checked her statement, there were 2 $50.00 charges added in addition to her purchase. Upon investigation, she found out that because she did not press the 'clear' button on the pump, the employee inside the store was able to use her card to purchase his/her own gas!

To keep this from happening, after you get your receipt, you must press the 'CLEAR' button or your information will be stored until the next customer inserts their card. Be sure to tell all your friends/family so that this doesn't happen to them. I had never noticed the clear button but I got gas the other day and sure enough it is there. I shall be using it from now on.

My response to my friend was that while the CLEAR button might prevent the next customer from using your debit card information, the CLEAR button is not a rreliable identity-theft prevention solution when using your debit/credit card at gas station pumps. Why? Because the identity criminals insert skimming devices inside gas station pumps. The skimming device reads and steals your card account information and personal identification number (PIN), and then transmits the data wirelessly to thieves nearby with a laptop. Gas station pumps are easy targets because the pumps are unattended for long periods of time when the gas station is closed.

So, you can press the CLEAR button a hundred times and that is not going to protect you against a tampered gas station pump with a skimming device inside.

 

Same thing if the skimming device is on the outside of a bank ATM machine: usually covering the card slot. The skimming device collects debit card account information and transmits the stolen data wirelessly to the criminals nearby with a laptop. If the skimming device can’t record your PIN number, then the thieves also install a tiny video camera above the bank ATM machine (or gas staton pump) to record your PIN via video. The thieves later match the PINs to accounts, make clones of the victims' debit cards with the stolen information, and then use the cloned debit cards to drain victims' checking accounts.

 

Recently, some criminals installed the skimming device inside the door jam when you use your debit card to open the bank ATM booth.

 

As I have written before, to avoid getting "mugged" at gas station pumps, consumer must protect their PIN. Experts advise that consumers should:

1. Pay at the pump using the "credit" option and not the "debit" option. This provides you with greater protections, liability limited to $50, and you don't use your PIN. Plus, you receive loyalty points if your credit card has a loyalty program.
2. If you want to pay using the "debit" option, don't pay at the pump. Go inside the gas station and pay at the cashier's window with your debit card. If a "signature debit" is available, use that there instead of your PIN.
3. If things look sketchy, pay with cash since that never discloses your bank account information.

What do I do? I pay with cash, especially if I am at a gas station I don't shop at regularly. It is impossible to tell if a gas station pump has been tampered with or not. I use my debit card only at my bank's ATM machines.

About email: if you receive an email with a suggested solution, it is always wise to check the authenticity at a website like Snopes.com. Not everything you receive in a nicely typed e-mail message is true. Snopes.com explains and debunks email hoaxes about various topics including gas station pumps.

Comments

[plumbing]

The clear button might be a real solution to that problem in gas pump stations. This blog is really informative. Nice post.

[Playmobil]

The clear button might not be the best possible answers on gas pumps.This blog is really a debate type of blog.Great post.

[ninjisa01]

Now I will be more careful. Even money is not the most important thing in this world, we need it so we must protect our fruits of labor.