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Comment by reaperducer | Hacker News Reader

This was found in Las Vegas. It's worth noting that the head of Las Vegas Metro (the regional police force) was on TV last year telling people that card skimming is so rampant in Nevada that nobody should use a card at any gas station — they should always use cash.

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That's the best solution - improved privacy and sometimes even reduced gas prices when using cash.

That would imply that cash is preferred, but, cash at a gas station - or any shop - is an attractor for robberies. At least with a skimmer the damage is purely financial, with robberies, especially in the US, there's a big risk of gun violence on top of that.

Can't rob someone that doesn't have cash, is all I'm saying.

You can absolutely rob a person that does not have cash though. Even ignoring the value of personal electronic devices credit cards themselves can be a target. You might be able to eventually unwind the financial impact but that doesn't deter robbery.

What you're describing sounds more like a mugging. He was talking about armed robbery of a convenience store. Is it possible to hold them up at gunpoint, forcibly take some of their card-processing equipment, and exfiltrate some money or credit card numbers that way? Probably, but that's not exactly the path of least resistance.

It's possible to steal a box of candy bars, or a case of beer, or the iPad cash register and on and on. Cash is not the only valuable a robber can target. Having large amounts of it on hand may make you a more appealing target but it is only one type of valuable.

> You might be able to eventually unwind the financial impact but that doesn't deter robbery.

Fewer and fewer people having anything on them to rob will deter robbery over time.

Until you find yourself escorted to an ATM at gunpoint.

This is why I don't carry a debit card tied to my main bank account. Just a "ATM only" account that I keep low.

This makes you the 0.000001% of the population.

Yay, guess I’m also part of that very rare club.

Cash is clearly preferred, as every gas station I can remember in the last 20 years offers a discount for paying cash.

It's the same situation in the California desert communities by me. Joshua Tree, Yucca Valley, 29 Palms, skimmers abound.

One nearby gas station has affixed large warning stickers on the pumps saying something to the effect of "Warning: use of a card to pay at this pump may result in a 72-hour freeze of your card. Please contact your bank or creditor for more information."

I've interrupted a few folks in the process of paying with cards at those pumps, asking them if they saw the warning sign. None had seen it, people seem conditioned to no longer register such things. Also worth noting, none had cash to pay inside with. Some went inside to pay at the register with their card though, which seems less likely to be compromised than the pump.

My card was skimmed at a gas pump shortly after I first arrived in the CA desert, I've only paid with cash ever since.

It seems unlikely that this practice knows any boundaries, I'm suspicious of any gas pump or poorly maintained/monitored ATM at this point.

Or prepay inside with a credit card? No skimmer at the counter in the gas station.

You can't be sure of that, it only takes seconds to install a skimmer or replace the whole unit, or the person behind the counter may just do it themselves.

Twelve years ago I had my card number and PIN logged at a point of sale inside a shop. The authorities caught the ring and determined what happened was the shop was burgled a week before and a week after. The first time the thieves took a few items and swapped the card reader out for a compromised one. Then they burgled it again and swapped it back, now laden with hundreds of card numbers and pins.

"What's your threat model?" In a perfect world, purchases in person are contactless, authenticated with a mobile device. Until then, don't sweat the small stuff: you're not liable for any fraudulent charges on credit cards (US centric advice), and I don't suggest using debit cards (keep an ATM card just for cash access at ATMs).

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