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Check a place before you tap your card.
Once you've connected SkimGuard to your assistant, you can ask it in plain words to check places and routes for skimmer reports. It's free and needs no account.
First, the ground rules
They apply to every example below.
What the app can find
- Skimmers that send stolen card data over a wireless signal, which most newer ones do.
- Results from other people's checks nearby, on the free map.
What it can't find
- Skimmers that don't send a signal, like some fake card slots. Keep looking and tugging too.
- An all-clear means nothing was found. It is not a guarantee.
- Lots of places say "no data". SkimGuard only knows a place once someone has checked it with the app. That means unknown, not safe. Expect it often, especially in rural areas.
- Still do the quick check. Wiggle the card reader, look for anything loose, bulky or mismatched, and cover the keypad when you type your PIN.
- Tap or use the chip, and use a credit card. If something goes wrong, it doesn't come straight out of your bank balance.
How to read the answers
- 🔴 Flagged: something suspicious was found there recently. Go somewhere else.
- 🟢 Clear: checked recently and nothing was found. A good sign, not a guarantee.
- ⚪ No data: SkimGuard hasn't seen it. Unknown, not safe.
Your assistant will include SkimGuard's own safety note in its answers. It's there for a reason.
Examples
Real ways to use it.
Each one is a question you can copy, edit and paste. We add more over time.
Example 1: a long road trip
You're driving across the country and want each day's stops checked before you go.
Today I'm driving from Denver, CO to Kansas City, MO. Using SkimGuard: 1. Recommend a few gas stations, lunch spots, and any ATMs I'm likely to use along this route. 2. Check each one with SkimGuard for recent card-skimmer reports. 3. Also check the route ahead for any flagged locations. For each place, tell me flagged / clear / no data, and include SkimGuard's safety caveat.
What works well: checking each stop by name. What's limited: the route check only looks at about 20 km of road ahead at a time, so treat it as a bonus, not proof the whole highway is clear.
Example 2: you've just landed somewhere new
You want to know what's been reported nearby.
I just landed in New Orleans. Ask SkimGuard for any locations near the French Quarter with recent suspicious card-skimmer activity, and tell me which nearby ATMs and gas stations are flagged versus clear.
Handy in busy tourist areas, where you're using card readers you don't know.
Example 3: before you pay somewhere
You're about to pay and want a quick check.
Is the Shell on Riverside Drive in Austin, TX flagged by SkimGuard? What about the ATM at the Chase on 6th Street?
The quickest everyday use: one named place, answered in seconds.
Example 4: your regular spots
The gas station by your house, the ATM you always use.
Check the QuikTrip on Main St in Tulsa and the Bank of America ATM on Cherry St with SkimGuard. If either has been flagged recently, tell me.
Ask every so often. A place that was clear last month can be flagged this week.
Honest limits
What SkimGuard won't do for you.
- It won't catch a skimmer nobody has found yet, or one that doesn't send a signal.
- It can't tell you a place is safe. Only that nothing suspicious was reported there lately, or that it has no data.
- It doesn't replace checking your statements. Skimming shows up as charges you don't recognize, so look regularly.
Think of it as one more layer. It steers you away from readers that have already been caught, while you keep doing the basics. Have an example we should add? Tell us at hello@skimguard.io.
Not set up yet? It's free.
Add SkimGuard to your assistant with one web address. No account, no key. Run a business? There are tools for your own locations too.