Gas station customers are being warned that “skimmer” devices to steal debit and credit card information have been found on pumps in the East County.

The devices were noticed on pumps at two 7-Eleven gas stations in unincorporated areas around La Mesa and El Cajon in recent months, said sheriff’s Sgt. Karla Menzies of the Rancho San Diego substation.

The cases may fit within a larger investigation crossing state lines, involving federal as well as local law agencies including the Sheriff’s Department, San Diego and Carlsbad police, Menzies said.

She said some arrests have been made in the wider investigation, but she did not have details about those cases.


Menzies said skimmers have been a problem for years, but she decided to issue a consumer warning after the two local gas station owners found them. One was reported at a 7-Eleven on Avocado Boulevard near Casa de Oro and the other at Jamacha Road at Chase Avenue near Rancho San Diego.

No customers at those stations have reported being fraud victims, Menzies said.

In Carlsbad, a skimmer was found at a Tamarack Avenue gas station, near Interstate 5, on Aug. 20, a police spokeswoman said.

A tell-tale sign of a skimmer is a break in the official San Diego County paper seal placed near a keyhole on the front of the gas pump.


The ID thief opens the panel and installs an electronic device inside the card-reader to capture personal information including debit card PINs, Menzies said. She said universal keys that fit pump locks have turned up on online sales sites such as Ebay.

The captured information can then be used to make duplicate credit or debit cards or to shop online.

Other kinds of skimmers can be placed over card readers in stores and on ATMs.

Menzies encouraged gas station owners to checks their pumps for broken lock seals.


Her advice for customers:

▪ Use pumps closest to clerks inside the station, as most skimmers are installed on pumps furthest from view.

▪ Don’t use a card reader or keypad that is loose or raised above the surface of the gas pump panel.

▪ Report tampering to an employee.


▪ Use a credit card rather than a debit card at the pump because it offers better fraud protection.

▪ Pay inside.

▪ Check bank statements for unauthorized purchases.

▪ Report fraud to local law enforcement.