Skimmer swipes card info at Mobile station

Longboat Key’s only gas station and a part-time Key resident fell victim to a growing nationwide scam last week: a credit-card skimmer in a gas pump used to steal credit and debit card information from customers. 

Longboat Key Detective Sgt. Bob Borque discovered the skimmer, located at the Mobil Longboat Key Mart, 400 Gulf of Mexico Drive, was discovered after part-time Longboat Key resident Robert Wright reported someone stole his Visa debit card at the gas station March 8. 

Skimmers are electronic devices placed illegally inside gas station credit card machines to steal information from consumers. The information is then used to make purchases in someone else’s name on a different credit card or gift card. 

Wright realized he left his card behind at the station when he didn’t have it to pay for dinner and returned later that evening to find the gas station closed and the card gone.

When police returned the next morning, a gas station attendant gave the card to police, which was found near the pump the previous day before closing.

“That was the first clue that something was wrong,” Borque said. “The gas station had the card, but the card was being used in a different capacity that night when it was locked up at the station.”

The card’s information was used at two different Tampa gas stations March 8 to buy two cartons of cigarettes each. The card was also denied four times for similar charges after the bank was alerted to irregular charges. 

Borque obtained images and video footage of a Hispanic male driving a four-door black Hyundai SUV with tinted windows making the cigarette purchases with a credit card at a Tampa Circle K. 

The video shows the clerk survey the card, check the man’s driver’s license and then check the signature line on the receipt to make sure everything matched. 

“It’s a sophisticated operation,” Borque said. “They created a credit card and a fake identification that matched up perfectly.”

Less sophisticated operations, Borque said, take information and put it on a gift card, hoping to buy items without clerks reviewing information or asking for identification. 

Borque said groups use skimmers in gas stations all around Miami, Tampa and Orlando, making the triangle on a weekly basis to collect credit card information from skimmers in gas stations. 

Credit card info is used to purchase inexpensive items in bulk, such as cigarettes, razor blades, baby formula and other expensive items to mom and pop grocery stores at discounted prices, Borque said. 

The skimmer found at the Mobil station, which is being analyzed for DNA and fingerprints at the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, also contained a Bluetooth mechanism that allowed the suspects to access credit card information simply by driving near the vicinity of the pump before driving away and return a few days later to download more information.

“We’re not sure how many people got scammed,” Borque said. “We’re advising Longboaters and visitors to check their accounts closely.”

Longboat Key police are perusing video surveillance from the Mobil station to find a suspect and vehicle that’s hopefully the black Hyundai from the Tampa gas station. 

Because the town has a license-plate camera recognition system, Borque says the town “has a better chance than many” of catching the suspect.

“If we can get the tag, we can find out who rented it if it’s a rental, and if it’s not a rental car, we’ll hit a home run,” Borque said. 

He also noted that the Mobil station has 16 cameras on site, more than double the working cameras most gas stations have.

Mobil gas station co-owner and Key resident Nazeela Rahman-Shaw said she was shocked that “such an extremely sophisticated group” was able to plant a skimmer at her station. The suspect even used a special tool to open the side of the gas pump. 

“We’re working diligently with Longboat Key Police to find out who was responsible,” Rahman-Shaw said. 

Gas station employees and patrons can prove their pump hasn’t been tampered with by making sure tape affixed to the side of the pump hasn’t been ripped. If it’s torn, patrons are advised to alert a clerk and not to use the pump. 

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which regulates all of the state’s gas stations, is also warning drivers about credit card skimmers after inspectors discovered six skimmers in the past week from Tampa Bay area gas stations (see sidebar on how to avoid skimmers). 

Longboat Key Police Chief Pete Cumming credits Borque with driving to the gas station March 13 to uncover the skimmer after realizing such a device was probably the culprit. 

“It’s exactly what we need to be doing out here,” Cumming said. “Be proactive and alert to scams.”

Cumming and Borque are hopeful the license plate cameras can help assist in finding the suspect’s vehicle once all of the security footage from the gas station is reviewed. 

In the meantime, Borque and Cumming urge motorists to also use a gas pump that has a clear view of the gas station attendant because suspects use pumps that are out of a line of sight when placing skimmers at stations. Keeping a close watch on your accounts is also recommended.

“We can’t solve every case, but if we’re persistent and look at every aspect of this case, we’re hopeful we can catch this guy,” Borque said.