Credit and debit card skimmers are a menace that might discourage consumers from using ATMs and pay-at-the-pump devices at gas stations. That’s why seals that show everyone whether a pump has been tampered with are a great idea, even if they aren’t foolproof at detecting the sneakiest and tiniest skimmers. Unless you employ them like some Shell stations.

Jorge captured this sticker at a Shell station in Virginia. It’s only the latest one that our readers have spotted in the wild, dating back to 2011.

Shell Gas Station Uses Stickers To Prevent Credit Card Skimming
Those Anti-Skimming Gas Pump Stickers Don’t Work If You Do It Like This
Shell Still Can’t Figure Out How To Use Anti-Theft Stickers On Gas Pumps

Here’s how the stickers are supposed to work: they’re like any freshness or tampering seal that you might find on your over-the-counter medicines or your food. If someone has broken into the machine to install something that shouldn’t be there, the seal will be broken, peeled up, or otherwise damaged.

Unless, of course, someone just slapped the sticker in the middle of the panel. That instills no confidence at all.

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