Arrest made in gas pump skimming case

Police say suspects are rarely found in such crimes

POST FALLS — Police believe they have cracked part of an elaborate national credit card theft ring case involving gas pumps and possibly hundreds of victims.

Post Falls Police Detective Neil Uhrig said one of the two suspects has been arrested in Florida and is awaiting extradition back to Kootenai County to face felony charges.

Uhrig declined to name the man, citing the ongoing investigation. The arrest was made by another agency.

"We should be able to provide more details once he's extradited," he said.

Post Falls Police reported the case last October and potential victims have notified authorities as late as Thursday, Uhrig said.

Post Falls Police Chief Scot Haug earlier said the suspects are Cuban immigrants involved in gang activity.

The suspects gained access to the inside of gas pumps and installed electronic skimming devices to gain access to credit card data. The pump functions normally and there is no way a customer would know the skimmer is collecting their credit card data. The suspects later returned to collect the devices and all data that was saved on them. With the data, counterfeit credit cards were made with gift cards.

Detectives found two devices on pumps at the Jifi Stop gas station on Spokane Street and Seventh Avenue in Post Falls. Other devices were found in Spokane and Airway Heights.

Uhrig said at least 30 local residents filed complaints in the case, but there could be hundreds of victims if they haven't learned that they've been targets.

Uhrig said the gas station turned over surveillance from the alleged incident that proved to be a breakthrough. He said suspects are rarely caught in such cases.

"The station has been extremely proactive in response to this," Uhrig said. "We would not have solved this without them. Their staff has spent countless hours going through transaction records and video tapes."

Uhrig declined to comment on a lot of the specifics on what was obtained from the evidence.

"We were able to catch evidence of them doing the install," he said.

The station has installed locks that make it virtually impossible to pick their way into the pumps, Uhrig said.

He said police have educated businesses on the case in an attempt to prevent them from becoming victims. He said some have taken action with locks or by placing tamper-resistant tape on the seals of the pumps, while others have decided to not take precautions.

"Unfortunately, they're opening themselves up to liability if they do nothing to protect their customers," he said.

Uhrig said it's unclear when the suspect arrested will be extradited here.

"That's governed by interstate agreements," he said, adding there are various ways to transport suspects across the country.

He said when a man accused of robbing a Post Falls business was arrested in Missouri, the process took two months.

Uhrig said credit card skimming is a national crime movement.

"What we recovered is small potatoes in the grand scheme of things," he said.

Uhrig said a law went into effect in October 2015 that shifted the liability in such cases from the credit card companies and banks to the stores and gas stations. He said some banks and credit card companies have shifted to a chip technology on cards to reduce fraud.

"If banks or credit card companies don't change to chip technology, they accept the liability of fraud," he said.

Once more companies make the switch, such fraud cases should decrease until criminals latch onto a new scam.

Residents are urged to always check their credit card statements to verify purchases.