From the Top

Skimming is making headlines but it is not ‘out of control,’ and there are two reasons why.

February 08, 2016

The NACS Magazine column, “In Context,” authored by NACS Vice President of Strategic Initiatives Jeff Lenard, shares the NACS perspective on some of the “big picture” issues facing our industry, and what NACS is doing to address those issues—both within the industry and to the larger audience of customers and potential customers. He can be reached at jlenard@nacsonline.com or (703) 518-4272.

“Would you say that the problem of skimming is out of control?” I’ve heard that question from reporters more than any other question over the past few months.

The short answer is no. But it’s also important that I give reporters the longer answer and walk through the context. After all, nobody wants to hear the line from National Lampoon’s Animal House—“Remain calm, all is well!”—in the midst of what is clearly a riot.

We obviously aren’t facing a riot, so our message on skimming is that the industry is paying attention to the issue, but it’s also not “out of control.” And it’s a challenge that we are doing something about—not just today, but ever since 2008 when NACS and Conexxus (then known as PCATS) first offered convenience and fuel retailers the resources and tools they needed to help reduce the likelihood of skimming.

There are two reasons why there are misperceptions that skimming is out of control.

The first is confusion between skimming and other types of payment security. Skimming is when a criminal installs a device either outside or inside a POS system to capture sufficient information from the payment card to clone it and create a counterfeit card. It is a time-intensive process. The average fuel dispenser processes a few dozen transactions a day. Over the course of 10 days, a skimmer may capture upwards of 500 cards.

On the other hand, data breaches are where the action is in terms of volume. Breaches are where criminals hack into a computer system to access sensitive information. The worst breach in 2015 exposed 80 million records of not just customer payment information but a treasure trove of personal data.

Skimming is far different than a data breach.

Skimming may feel like a bigger problem because when it occurs in an area, it tends to occur multiple times and affect consumers in a defined geography. Criminals installing skimmers are no different than other criminals who tend to work an area until they have exhausted all opportunities, whether in robberies or scams, before they move on to the next town. A few localized stories can make the problem feel pretty big in any given city.

While misperceptions abound about how frequently skimming occurs when there are nearly 40 million fill-ups every day, it remains important for NACS to continue to share guidelines for how to mitigate the likelihood that your store will be a target. After all, one skimming incident is one too many at your stores—whether or not it becomes front-page news.

NACS recently published online resources (nacsonline.com/skimming) that look at the issue of skimming—and are designed to both assist retailers and educate the general public. Conexxus also held a webinar: “Defending the Island: A guide to reducing the risk of skimming.”

These digital resources can go a long way toward demystifying our industry, just like we have done with our reFresh initiative (nacsonline.com/refresh) and with gas prices (nacsonline.com/gasprices). Above all, it shows that we are in control of the situation—which is what customers most want to hear.

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