[briffle]

Of course they can be made that way. The countermeasure built into gambling equipment like slot machines is incredible.

But then it would cost more than their competitors. With much more maintenance for false positives, etc. And the vendor doesn't really pay the price for skimmer fraud..

[jalk]

So the reason that gas, in LA area at least, have different prices for cash and card (typically ~$0.25/gal more for card) is not because of additional risk for the gas station, but just classic US exorbitant fees?

[despideme]

The price difference is a way to pass along credit card fees that otherwise would have to be paid by the station operator. It used to be against the credit card networks’ merchant agreements to have separate cash and credit prices — but a good number of LA gas stations rolled the dice and did it anyway. That rule changed a few years ago, and now most stations split their pricing. (I believe that’s also why ARCO gas now takes credit cards, after holding out for decades — they are now allowed to pass along the cost to the customer.)

[LorenPechtel]

If someone comes up with an anti-skimmer terminal the payment processors would benefit from having a lower transaction fee for transactions posted from such a terminal. That would in time push the market to use such terminals.