SHELL URGES MARKETERS TO BE ON LOOKOUT FOR

CARD-SKIMMING AT PUMP

     Shell has joined the growing chorus of suppliers urging marketers to be on their guard against credit card fraud schemes, now that the driving season is well under way.

     In letters to marketers in the West and memos to company reps, Shell says that retailers need to be on their guard against skimming devices placed in dispensers that illegally download, record and store data from the mag stripes on customer cards.  A similar warning was issued by ConocoPhillips two weeks ago.

     “Access to the inside of the dispenser may take 60 seconds or less, depending on the method used, which can include the use of duplicate keys,” says Bill Spurgeon, Shell’s general manager for the company’s western retail region.  “  “At times, criminals may remove the device but leave the ribbon tape connect wire in the dispenser.  The devices are varied in appearance and criminals may utilize a dispenser that is not clearly visible to station employees.”

    In particular, marketers and their employee should look for anyone opening or closing a dispenser, any unusual device inside the pump, or unusual or excessive ribbon type wiring near the card-reader that may lead to a device inside the equipment, he says.

     Additionally, cashiers should be on the alert for multiple sales to the same person, anyone filling large tanks or barrels, several pumps being used at the same time, discarded or forgotten receipts, and the use of unusual cards to make purchases.

     Credit card fraud impacted 1 in every 20 people last year costing consumers millions of dollars, shays Shell, which recently introduced a zip code requirement for MPD users.