Anti-skimming stickers are being applied to gas pumps across the city to increase awareness about fraud and to make it more difficult for offenders to tamper with fuel dispensers.
Crime Stoppers has partnered with Petro-Canada and Circle K stores to display the decals on their gas pumps.
The decals have the Crime Stoppers logo on them and will break apart if tampered with to alert customers and station employees to a potential problem.
“With technology, fraudsters will advance their techniques. So this is a billion dollar problem across Canada, skimming, not necessarily at the pumps but skimming as a whole, so what we’re trying to do is just be proactive so that our customers feel safe when they use our pumps as well as for our employees to make sure that when they’re coming out here doing their preventative maintenance checks, that it’s easy for them to spot something. Whereas before they would have to be a little bit more vigilant, now it’s a little bit easier for them to see something that’s out of place,” said Sean Sportun, ISCP, Manager, Security & Loss Prevention for Circle K Stores in Central Canada.
“Ensuring we have a safe and secure environment for our guests to visit is our top priority,” said Pat Lizotte, General Manager, Retail Sales and Site Operations, Suncor.
“The Calgary Crime Stoppers Association wholeheartedly supports this initiative and welcomes the opportunity to be a part of this proven fraud reduction strategy,” said Curtis Dyck, President, Calgary Crime Stoppers Association.
“Before a citizen uses their payment card, they should always look for any signs of tampering on the payment device. If available, we recommend citizens take advantage of the “tap to pay” features on their payment card, which is extremely secure and less likely to result in a breach of their data if the device has been compromised,” said Staff Sgt. Cory Dayley, CPS Cyber/Forensics Unit.
Officials say two decals will be located on the pump and that if one or both are missing, drivers should pull on the card reader to make sure it is secure and to check the keypad to ensure it is flush with the console.
“One will be on the card reader and the other one will be where the camera would go for the pin pad. If you see this, you should be gently tugging and pulling on areas on the pay pump, just to see if it comes off because that’s where those devices will be,” said Sportun.
“Reporting is definitely lower than we know the offences that are occurring so we’re encouraging all businesses or consumers if they do find the product to contact local police in that jurisdiction and have somebody come out and help recover the equipment and see if it can be attributed to a crime,” said Dayley.
The decals have been rolled out across the country and officials say they will enhance security for those who are paying at the pump.
