Stolen at the pump: an empirical analysis of risk factors on gas pump skimmer fraud attacks
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JFC-07-2021-0168 |
| Published date | 30 August 2021 |
| Date | 30 August 2021 |
| Pages | 942-950 |
| Subject Matter | Accounting & finance,Financial risk/company failure,Financial crime |
| Author | Scott H. Belshaw,Brooke Nodeland |
Stolen at the pump: an empirical
analysis of risk factors on gas
pump skimmer fraud attacks
Scott H. Belshaw and Brooke Nodeland
Department of Cyber Forensics Lab, Department of Criminal Justice,
University of North Texas System, Denton, Texas, USA
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this study is to examine the characteristics of gas stations where skimmer
attacks occurred in a sample of Texas gas stationsbetween 2019 and 2021. This paper seeks to contribute to
the literature relatedto payment card fraud at the gas pump by providing one of the first examinationsof the
gas stationswhere gas pump skimming is known to have occurred.
Design/methodology/approach –Using data collected froma Texas state regulatory agency between
2021, the authorsexamine characteristics of gas stations where a gas pump skimming was detected.
Findings –Results suggest that the presence of a surveillancecamera system was significantly related to
gas pump skimmer detection for gas stations in both urban and rural areas. Europaychip readers were not
presentin any of the pumps where a skimmer attack was detected.
Originality/value –Gas pump skimmingis a form of payment card fraud that costs upwards ofUS$11bn
a year in the USA alone. Gas pump skimming occurs when electronic devices are illegally installed fuel
pumps to capture dataor record cardholders’personalidentification numbers. This is among the firststudies
to use data obtained from a state agency with specific information regardingeach individual occurrence of
gas pump skimming. As such, the papermakes a unique contribution by exploring specific characteristics of
gas stationswhere skimming and ultimately payment card fraud, occurred.
Keywords Gas pump skimming, Payment card fraud, Cyber fraud, Skimming prevention
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Gas pump skimming is one of themost innovative forms of payment card attacks in the US
today. Skimmers are readily available online,can often be bought on the surface, as well as
the dark web and are relativelyeasy to install (Barker et al., 2008). Gas pump skimmer fraud
represents a form of payment card fraud that involves harvesting card information from
automated devices including fuel dispensers (Begian and Kettani, 2020). Worldwide, losses
from payment card fraud reached US$27.85bn in 2018 and are projected to rise to US
$35.67bn in five years and US$40.63bn in 10 years, according to The Nilson Report (2019),
the leading global card and mobilepayments trade publication. In the USA, there is evidence
that gas pump skimming has been increasing in recent years and thatit will continue to do
so. For example, in the State of Florida, the number of skimming devices discovered by the
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services inspectors more than tripled
from 169 to 656 between 2015 and 2017,followed by 1,206 in 2018, 1,555 in 2019 and 1,178 so
far in 2020 (Card Skimmers,2021).
Skimming represents a physical cyber threat that requires the installation of hardware
either on or inside of, a targeted device (Begian and Kettani, 2020).A skimmer attack can be
thought of as a man in the middle kind of attack; after being placedin a pump, the skimmer
JFC
29,3
942
Journalof Financial Crime
Vol.29 No. 3, 2022
pp. 942-950
© Emerald Publishing Limited
1359-0790
DOI 10.1108/JFC-07-2021-0168
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