Phone app offers help, protection in fight against card skimmers

BUTLER COUNTY, Ohio (WKRC) - An app could eventually give drivers peace of mind at the gas pump in a time where “skimmers” are a very real concern.

The app is also being used by some local inspectors to help fight crime.

There was a time when you never had to worry when you pulled into a gas pump to fill up, but now you have to worry about may lurk inside. “Skimmers” can steal your credit card information.

However, now there is a phone app can alert you to danger.

Tom Kamphaus often makes the rounds at gas stations throughout Butler County. The Weights and Measures Manager for the County Auditor’s Office is looking for “skimmers”, which are devices used by crooks to access your credit card information.

But Kamphaus has a new tool in his toolbox to find the skimmers. It’s an Android phone app called “Skim Plus.” When a skimmer emits a signal, the app picks it up.

Gurnam Kooner owns the River Road Food Mart in Fairfield. Not only do the county inspectors check out his pumps, he does it quite often

Dick Scheid is a customer who says he trusts the pump inspections and doesn’t worry about skimmers.

Even though the Android phone app has proven to be effective, Tom Kamphaus still says customers should still take steps to avoid being victimized.

A solution to the skimming problem will be when all pumps are equipped with chip readers, but that is not expected to happen until 2020.

Butler County inspectors have found more than a dozen skimmers since they first started showing up in gas pumps three years ago.

Seven were found last year, which is an increase over the previous year.