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You might already be wary of gas 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 gas station’s sales system.
Hackers get into the gas 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 gas stations process your payment through the chip yet—a lot of them are still using a regular old swipe to authorize your purchase.
While most other businesses have already switched over to EMV chip payments, gas stations were given an extension by Visa and Mastercard, in part because of the cost involved with upgrading the machinery. They have until next year to switch their pumps over, which means even though your card has a chip, it’s probably not being read when you pay for gas.
Hackers get into the gas 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 gas stations process your payment through the chip yet—a lot of them are still using a regular old swipe to authorize your purchase.
While most other businesses have already switched over to EMV chip payments, gas stations were given an extension by Visa and Mastercard, in part because of the cost involved with upgrading the machinery. They have until next year to switch their pumps over, which means even though your card has a chip, it’s probably not being read when you pay for gas.
