Credit Card Issue

I experienced a credit card issue while trying to fill my truck’s gas tank at a row of fuel dispensers yesterday.

I carry with me three different credit cards most of the time.  After pulling up to one of the gas dispensers, I pulled out a Visa card and tried it twice in the card reader.  Each time the transaction was cancelled a few seconds after I removed my card.

I slipped that card back in my card folder and tried my Amex card.  Same result.

Convinced the card reader was malfunctioning, I whipped my truck around to another dispenser downline.  Once there, I tried my third card—another Visa.  The transaction was cancelled a few seconds after I pulled my card from the reader.

What the…?

I stared at the card in disbelief.  Is it possible to have three different credit cards hacked overnight?

I squinted at the illustration beside the card reader slot showing how to properly insert the card.  I had studied the illustration at the first pump, too.

Wait…

I flipped the card so the magnetic strip was on the opposite side and tried the card again.

A new message appeared on the dispenser’s display: “Would you like a receipt?”

I looked all around me to make sure nobody had been watching.  If there is such a thing as card reader dyslexia, I have it.

—Mitchell Hegman