THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

It took a while for Todd Beth to connect the dots and realize someone had hacked the pumps at his family’s Healdsburg gas station.

One customer came in wondering about charges made on her account after she bought gas, but even she figured the problem lay elsewhere. But after several regulars made passing remarks about fraudulent charges suddenly appearing on their cards, Beth grew alarmed.

He called out a technician who opened the pumps and found the stories were no coincidence. Someone had installed electronic “skimmers” on two of the station’s most remote pumps, stealing credit card information for an untold number of customers at Jerry’s Valero on Dry Creek Road.