SALT LAKE CITY - From the East Coast to the West Coast and every place in between, pay-at-the-pump credit and debit card skimming is skyrocketing in the United States. But the problem is growing bigger as evidence of card skimming scams are turning up in Europe and other countries as well, BankInfoSecurity.com reports.

Arizona, Florida and Utah, among other localities, all experienced a rash of card-skimming activity last year, with more breaches already happening this year in the United States and Europe.

Earlier this month in Tucson, Ariz., Police Sgt. Michael Garcia said police had grabbed the city??s first card skimmer connected to a gas pump. Banks, such as Zions headquartered in Salt Lake City, have traced recent fraud occurrences back to gasoline stations, too.

In early March, the European ATM Security Team (EAST) revealed that card skimming at unattended gasoline pumps were rising this year, even though Europe had begun to switch to EMV, a chip-based card technology that helps deter theft. "Although these are often not successful, six countries reported this form of attack, with two reporting increases," said the EAST.

NACS is working with U.S. retailers to ensure that pay-at-the-pump is a safe and reliable method of payment. PCATS has developed two guidance documents to help retailers stop skimming at dispensers.

"Petroleum retailers constantly invest in upgrading payment technology to protect consumers," Gray Taylor, PCATS executive director, told NACS Daily. "The fact is card companies refuse to add authentication (like PIN) to all card types. All unattended terminals are subject to skimming, including ATMs. The prohibition of ZIP code entry as decided in California will only add to this problem."