As prices rise, beware of these scams at the gas pump

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- With gas prices soaring once again, every penny counts, and we have a warning about a few gas scams that could take more of your hard-earned money.

These can happen at just about any gas station because authorities think scammers, who are unaffiliated with the businesses, just walk onto the property.

Action News talked to a young woman named Hailey, who says she got scammed and wants to warn other people.

Hailey tells us she went to a gas station, tapped to use Apple Pay, and put the pump in her tank.

That's when a man approached her and offered to help.

Hailey says she let the man take the pump out of her tank once it got to $30.

"It looked like he put the pump away, but I'm assuming obviously he didn't. And then, I look at my card a couple days later and there's a $175 charge. It's just so unfortunate because it's $145 out of my pocket," she said.

Police don't know for sure what happened, but this could have been a pump-switching scam.

That's when someone pumps your gas and instead of stopping the transaction, leaves it open and then pumps gas into their own car or someone else's vehicle, taking cash from that other person at your expense.

When you're at the gas station, you should also take care not to hand your card to a scammer instead of an attendant.

"They could also have a handheld device so they're scanning your credit card, handing it back to you. You get your gas. You get your receipt. You think everything's fine and they have your credit information and they either use that themselves or they sell it on a secondary market," said Sgt. Eric Gripp of the Philadelphia Police Department. "If you're not at a full service gas station, beware. Those are the only people that are authorized by law to pump your gas, and if the person offering to pump your gas can't identify themselves in a way that you feel comfortable that they're an employee, you should probably politely decline that offer."

If you are pumping your own gas, beware of card skimmers.

Those are card readers that scammers put over or in place of legitimate ones to steal your information.

Criminal card readers are often undetectable but sometimes they might not be securely attached so if the reader moves a little when you tap or insert, that's a red flag.

If your card doesn't slide smoothly in and out of a reader, that's another sign something might be wrong.

While it's not as convenient, it's generally safer to pay inside.