While probably too late at this point I came out last week from a week solo from LIS and after settling up at Piragis I stopped at Lucky Seven gas/food mart to top off my tank. I used the far pump as the others were taken, then went inside for a sandwich. Off I went for my 20 hour drive.

Three hours later, my wife call saying our CC company emailed us about a .01 cent change to some luggage company. Then there were two exact charges. She was at work and not seeing all the emails until they called her and said 270 bucks was charged to Best Buy. so we killed the card then. I had only left Ely 3 hours before.

So beware, I assume the skimmer was on the gas pump vs anywhere else. If there is one, there are more in town. I do not accuse anyone or any company with this info, just passing my experience.

Thanks for posting, and sorry that happened. I finished a trip a week ago too and your post had me scratching my head about where I filled up for gas because I knew I drove to the end too. Thankfully I chose Holiday that day.

I was skimmed once too at an ATM in London. Within hours my card was being used at a range of places in Bangkok, starting with some very small charges (often done to ensure the card works). Thankfully CitiBank cleaned up the mess for me. Hope your card company takes care of you.

Was there anything strange about the card readers that you can remember? Might help us avoid it in the future.

We were skimmed a while back at the Holiday in Rogers - the one near Cabela's. And, yes, it was a pump that's hard to see from the store.

Pretty happy that we were signed up for text alerts from our card provider, even if they did wake me up in the dead of night. All's well in the end and we weren't out any $$, thank goodness, but there were a few thousand in purchases made in a very short time. And I wound up with a new card number to memorize...

At the pump, I now look for a green light and locked padlock symbol on the card reader, and/or a numbered security tape across the removable part of the reader. Broken tape or a red unlocked padlock need to be reported immediately.

These guys are now using Bluetooth to gather the data read from your magnetic strip. That way, they can just hang out nearby and feed the data to their card-making operatives wherever they may be. They used to have to go back and get the skimming device back out of the card reader, doubling the risk of being caught.

They'll use the new blank cards with your info at places that they know don't ever look at the customers' cards. (Remember the good-old-days when the clerk would look at the back to compare your signature to the slip you just signed?...)

schweady: "At the pump, I now look for a green light and locked padlock symbol on the card reader, and/or a numbered security tape across the removable part of the reader. Broken tape or a red unlocked padlock need to be reported immediately."

Good to know, thanks!

I always go into the store to pay. I like human contact.

Cash is king. No problem.

Sorry they got you. I went to the Bloombergs Cenex Gas station instead on the 29th. Dang thieves.

Kampynkate: "Cash is king. No problem."

True to some extent, but if you like saving anywhere from 1-8% on all purchases, credit is the way to go! Use a credit card like a debit card and the rewards are free money. Those who pay cash are leaving money on the table.

Like a previous poster said, text alerts for all card charges (whether credit or debit) are the way to go. I caught fraud on my credit card for the first time ever a couple months ago. I called my credit card company and had the card closed and charge removed from my card within 5 min of the fraudulent charge occurring.