You might already be wary of petrol pump skimmers that can steal your payment information from the card reader. Now, Visa has issued a warning about a new threat at the pump: hackers working through the petrol station’s sales system.
Hackers get into the petrol station’s point-of-sale system by sending phishing emails to employees, according to Visa’s report, originally shared by Engadget. From there, the hackers get access to your info from your card’s magnetic strip when you insert your card at the pump.
If you’re thinking, “But all my cards are chip cards,” keep in mind that not all petrol stations process your payment through the chip yet—a lot of them are still using a regular old swipe to authorise your purchase.
There’s not much you can do to at the petrol pump except avoid paying at them. Your best option is to walk into the petrol station and pay at the register, where you’ll be able to use a chip reader if you pay with a card.
If you choose to pay at the pump, never use a debit card. If for any reason your payment info gets compromised, it could take weeks for that money to get put back in your account after your bank investigates the fraud. A credit card offers greater fraud protection and won’t put a dent in your budget if hackers manage to intercept your purchase.
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