FBI warns Thanksgiving travelers of credit card skimmers at gas pumps

As millions of Americans prepare to hit the roads, the FBI is warning drivers to look out for credit card skimmers.

Nearly 51 million people are expected to travel this Thanksgiving, the biggest number since 2005.

Before drivers fill up their tanks, the FBI is urging them to take a closer look at the pump.

Gerald Nix has a warning for drivers who think getting scammed by a skimmer couldn’t happen to them.

“Oh, it could. Yeah, I was one. I didn’t think it could, but it did. It can happen to anybody,” said Nix.

Nix said he got an alert from his credit card company an hour after he pumped gas that someone had tried to steal $180 from him.

“We went back to the station and they had cameras, I mean, clear as day. They actually apprehended the guy the same day,” said Nix.

The FBI recently announced the arrest of eight people for their roles in skimming credit card information from more than 7,000 gas station customers.

Last month, Action News Jax reported that an employee at a St. Augustine Circle K found a skimmer device at a gas pump.

In the first seven months of this year, skimmers found at Florida gas pumps went up 160 percent.

To reduce your risk, the FBI recommends paying for gas inside the convenience store and, when possible, paying with cash.

“I just try to monitor the actual devices a little bit more now,” said Nix.

If you pay at the pump, the FBI recommends looking for missing, broken or loose security tape, and using pumps that are visible to surveillance cameras.

Cox Media Group