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| Washington, DC – December
2018 / Newsmaker Alert / Starting
on Thanksgiving Day, U.S. Secret Service Special Agents launched “Operation
Deep Impact,” a nationwide initiative to find and remove credit card
skimming devices installed on fueling station pumps. Operation Deep Impact
is the agency’s fourth and most successful holiday anti-skimming operation
this year. So far, the Thanksgiving initiative has prevented an estimated
$6 million in losses to consumers. Previous initiatives took place before
Independence Day, Memorial Day and Labor Day.
An estimated 54 million Americans traveled across town or across the country for Thanksgiving, and this means bigger paydays for card-skimming financial criminals who target victims at fueling stations. The Secret Service issued a nationwide alert to private sector and state and local law enforcement partners with detailed technical information regarding what to look for; if skimmers are located how to handle the device; proper evidence collection protocols; and, overall best practices for investigating skimming operations. As of Black Friday, more than 400 gas stations in 16 states have already been searched and nearly 200 skimmers recovered from pumps. Secret Service agents, in partnership with fuel companies and law enforcement, continued to locate and recover illegal credit card skimming devices throughout the holiday weekend. Fueling stations are a prime target for this type of crime due to the high volume of customers and the criminal’s ability to install the devices and recover the stolen data undetected. Because today’s gas pumps are typically unattended, developing suspects and making arrests in skimming cases is difficult — but not impossible. The Secret Service is leading the charge to protect U.S. consumers against this growing cyber-enabled financial crime. Special agents and investigative analysts from around the country will continue to work closely with state and local law enforcement partners to keep the public informed and apprehend those who are responsible for conducting credit card skimming. For more resources and information on skimming, visit www.Convenience.org/skimming. About
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