city, this is "nightline" with bill we're. happy friday. oh, the duality of man. one person's brilliance creates technology, while anothers exploits that same idea in order to rip us off. case in point, the self-serve gas pump. earlier this summer we caught on to a scam so clever, countless, unwitting folk were driving away with a full tank and much lighter wallet. but we found a man well versed in the skim scam who start tupd listen to his better angels and gave abc's nick watt the tips you need to protect yourself for this "nightline" on the lookout. >> reporter: you are watching what police say is a new breed of credit card thief, caught on tape. they say that guy is searching for a so-called skimmer device. installed this gas pump in arizona. stealing your credit card info when you think you are just paying for gas.

what he doesn't know, according to investigators, is that he is just been caught in a covert sting operation. he put those in there for whatever reason, they're not there anymore. i know why. because i have them. he is the one who tipped us off. he is the one who switched out that skimming device for a night vision spy camera. >> we may have the first ever video of organized bad guys actually trying to retrieve their skimmers. >> that's video gold. here comes our producer pulling up to buy gas. he swipes his credit card, and for all he knows, for all the gas station owner knows, crooks could be stealing from him right then and there. the skimmer inside the pump, silently harvesting his credit card information. he has no way of knowing. and this its how a multibillion

dollar a year problem. that's where i found mine. it was stuck up here. unless you are looking like this, you can't see it. look at the little match box, that's it. stuck on one side to the middle. >> he recently found a skimming device inside one of his pumps. he has been in the gas business a long time. and played us the greatest hits from the surveillance video collection. >> they used to come in with a gun. or used to break the windows at night. >> that its so last century. the skimmer wouldn't stick a gun in your face. there its nothing hiding his eyes. they will, well they'll rob you blind. the skimming device found inside ahmad's pump sat there for months. he had no idea. skimming all across this country, got so bad that steve scarince, and the united states secret service yep, the same guys who protect the president they are now on the case. >> are you winning the war? >> it's even, right now.

we are doing our best. we certainly could use more help. >> getting help from police departments, tipoffs from gas station owners and just wait until you meet one of their secret weapons. >> somebody turned my partner in, he turned me in. >> dan felipe is a reformed credit card hacker. he switched side. he was caught by the secret service. and then spent two years training agents in the dark art of skimming. >> it is very easy. it's -- a lot of money. you can make tons of money. >> gas station skimming is one of the easiest and best ways of doing it because it is hidden. it only takes second to open it up and put it in there. so this is the reader that will be inside the gas pump. and so you would just swipe it through and it would read it right here. >> so you just add this into the circuit? >> that's exactly it. what you would do is unplug this. you would take the skimmer and plug it right back in. knob would kn nobody would know the difference.

>> how do they get into the pumps? believe it or not there is a universal key that opens most gas pump doors. >> a universal key. >> universal key. the same key from mals massachu to california. >> you can buy one on line. >> some of the newer devices use the data to transmit. >> reporter: a bad guy can nab your numbers without risking a return to the pump. then his option number one is to just sell your credit card number, sort of e-bay for skimmers. >> how much is my number worth? >> anywhere from $5 to $30. >> jeez, not much. are you nervous yet? watch this. >> i would have an exact copy of your card. >> one swipe. >> one swipe. that's it. >> that its option number two. clone a card. and that's how easy it is to transfer your stolen credit card details on to a fake card. >> i was printing my own fake credit card. i would go to the store.

purchase, electronics. i would resell them. >> so how do we stop guys from going on shopping sprees with your credit card info. well, the arizona department of weights and measures is trying to stop this high-tech heist at its source. >> wre are here checking for skimming devices. >> it was when they found a skimmer in the pump that they had their bright idea to lay a trap. they pulled out the skimmer and -- >> we inserted one of the little night vision spy-cams in the back of the dispenser. >> here is theull video from their operation. 2:00 a.m., a black suv pulls into the gas station. picked up on the surveillance camera. police tell us one guy blocks the attendant's view. two people punch over the pump. bingo. here is the view from that camera inside. a skimmer-cam, police say, apparently a man and woman team caught red-handed. >> what we have here, we have

the guy. and i have this. it's awesome. >> they can't find their skimmer, they start dickering. almost like a husband and wife team, arguing where is the car keys. >> the cops are searching for mr. and mrs. skimmer. for the man and his crime spree ended when he was spotted shop b b -- shopping at a best buy with a fake credit card. >> anything i want i'd would go out and get for free with the card. >> reporter: then shopping sprees with counterfeit card left a trail too easy to track. it's old-fashioned. these days, skimmers have a new way of turning stolen credit card into cash. >> lookike a normal truck on th road. >> you open it. >> not such an ordinary struck. >> 300-gallon container. home made. steel. >> doesn't look safe. >> after installing huge hidden

tanks, skimmer gangs go become to the gas station and fill them up at the pump. paying for the gas with your stolen credit cards. look at where this guy has inserted the pump nozzle. up so high it can access that secret compartment. >> i would never suspect someone would go to that much trouble. off awe >> absolutely. they transfer tight a regular tanker. and make what looks like a legitimate delivery to a gas station owner. voila, gas for cash. >> $8 million to $10 million a year. >> cops in l.a. county say they're pulling over trucks like this at a rate of one a week. what on earth can you do to protect yourself and credit card digits. there is no point looking at the pump for clues. >> you would never know. no way of knowing. >> while gas station owners are looking for locks and alarms, here are some other thing that the you can do.

check your account. most credit card companies will suck up any loss if you report it. within 60 days. choose wisely. choose a pump near the attendant. skimmers prefer to target pumps in the shadows. and -- don't forget, you don't actually need to put your card anywhere near that pump. you can always pay inside. >> word of wisdom there. thanks to nick watt for that. what it the one place where wearing camo makes you really stand out? how about the miss america pageant. we're going to meet a new breed of beauty queen next. years ago, my doctor told me to take a centrum silver multivitamin every day. i told him, sure. can't hurt, right? and now today, i see this in the news. once again, centrum silver was chosen by researchers for another landmark study. this time looking at eye health. my doctor!

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so for the purposes of research, i looked up the list of miss america talents throughout the years. and found everything from ventriloquism to hula dancing, lovely women show off dressmaking, trampoline, harp skills over the years. curiously no contestant has ever shot a deer on stage with a bow and arrow. to be fair they don't allow that. but if they did miss kansas could. or she could fire a machine gun while describing tattoos in chine chinese. theresa veil. and amy robach introduces us to the woman changing the way we think about the modern pageant. >> reporter: each year, thousand of young women vie to become the next miss america, a contest that some say is trapped in time.

but this year, the competition may be between traditional and cutting edge. >> here we go. good job. >> reporter: the pink or the ink. >> pretty much all the way up. and all the way down. ♪ i am the one >> reporter: miranda jones is who you might picture when you think of a beauty contestant. a world champion baton twirler and veteran of many page enlts. pageants. theresa veil is something different. a grittier, perhaps more modern competitor. >> it is lethal. it's deadly. i tell people not to mess with me. >> reporter: meet the reigning, miss kansas, known as sergeant veil. >> i break stereotypes every day, being a soldier and a beauty queen. >> reporter: veil, a first of sorts. member of the kansas army national guard, and a double major in chinese and chemistry.

>> thank you. >> thank you, you look beautiful. >> my platform is empowering will tune overcome stereotypes and break barriers. >> the first contestant to sport her tattoos. >> right now the stigma is girls who compete in pageants don't have tattoos. if they do they cover them or else they don't win. and i want to break that. i want to say, you know, this is -- this is 2013. women have tattoos. they can win. >> what are your tattoos of? >> serenity prayer. >> reporter: the second member of the u.s. military to ever compete in the miss america pageant. a very different type of duty she hasn't quite gotten used to. which one is harder? >> right now, i will say this one. having to be girlie. put on makeup. and fake eyelashes for on stage. a whole new arena. whole new ballpark. >> one of her biggest competitors sunday night will be

a classic of sorts. >> your new miss florida. >> reporter: and a pageant pro. >> i have focused and prepared for this moment my entire life. >> i'm miss florida. >> i want you smiling from here. >> reporter: for the last five weeks, miranda has been working with mary sullivan, executive director of miss florida. who each year gets her state representative ready for the national stage. >> that's not a vision of what i want. it's a vision of whether or not i can do this. >> when you are crowned you mean? >> ah. >> reporter: one of her priorities this year is working on miranda's voice. >> the purpose of it is to be speaking and pushing from your diaphragm rather than pushing from your throat. how are you doing today? i always eat lunch at noon. i always eat lunch at 7:00. how are you doing tonight?

i am miss florida, and you are not. that's my favorite one. >> every aspect is carefully monitored. from moving in with her coach. >> how many times a day are you supposed to eat? >> following a 24 hour/7 day a week diet regimen. >> what i could eat. i could have fruit up until yesterday. now i can't. carrots, broccoli. >> there is one thing they couldn't prepare for. >> i love the eyes. >> yes. yes. >> are they her eyes? >> yes, those are her eyes. >> reporter: real life. at her baton twirling rehearsal, miranda fell and tore her acl. >> medics, please. come pe >> reporter: competitive as ever. she was back and won. you will get to the performance

on "20/20" sunday. miss kansas had a set back preparing. a master archer, she planned on demonstrating her bow and arrow skills, but at the last minute she was told, projectile object were forbidden. so she learned opera. >> i watched youtube videos to learn how to sing. >> reporter: wow, again, unexpected. >> yeah, show tattoos. then come outen a gun and sing opera. >> from a girl who wears camo. >> yes. i wanted to show the judgize can bep a poised, graceful, elegant woman, but i have this bic dichotomy. >> reporter: will she carry a crown? there are 53 women in this competition t in a way it is the contest between the old and the new. and who wins miss america this sunday may well show us where america stands. for "nightline," i'm amy robach in atlantic city.

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. >> congratulations you survived friday the 13th, and triskaidekaphobia fills tonight's feed frenzy. it's estimated the u.s. economy takes a $900 million hit on unlucky days like this. so many superstitious folks refuse to fly or do business. for those who want to prove their bravery, it was flight 666 to hel, the actual number of the finn air flight from copenhagen to helsinki. not just airlines, the ceo of men's warehouse said they don't like the way they look after wedding sales plummeted after bride reluctant to get married. what is it about this day that has 20 million americans filled with dread. numerologists kid 12 a complete number -- 12 months, 12 signs of zodiac, 12 gods of olympus and disciples of christ. case in point, judas, jesus'

betrayer, 13th guest at the last supper the we know how that turned out. it may be the film franchise, creeping out the modern masses, "friday the 13th" came out 33 years ago. three guys thought to pay tribute with a hockey mask, and their prank went viral as we chuckled at strangers tripping over themselves in fear and a feeble attempt at responsible pranking they removed the chain from the saw and warned others newt try this at hope. kidding they didn't get shot or arrested these guys may be the luckiest goof balls on the planet. >> crazy kids. thank you for watching abc news. our friend at "gma" will have the latest in the morning. sunday don't miss george's exclusive interview with president obama. we're always on line at abcnews.com. see you back here monday. >> announcer: every day, more americans choose abc news.

america's number one news source. "omg insider," the top trending stories you need to know. >> nicole kidman hit by a photographer on a bike. >> nicole kidman knocked to the pavement by a paparazzo. >> het interview after the new york incident. >> i was shaken. >> will the oscar winner pressr charges, as her friend hugh jackman speaks out. lindsay's mom arrested. >> i think you were half in the bag already. tonel richie on miley and her dad. >> i've been billy ray. what i went through with nicole, i mean, god bless billy ray. >>hen lil underwood's emotional

"talk" secret. >> i was born a twin. she did not live. >> and the full house sex talk. >> the ladies. i used to ski in john stamos' y wake. >> come out and talk about how you lost your virginity to me, give me a call. now where yahoo! and broadcast meet for 24/7 access to celebrity news, "omg insider." nicole kidman gets knocked down by a paparazzo. we have her first words. meanwhile, dina lohan popped by a cop for alleged drunk driving. hello, everyone. i'm kevin frazier. >> i'm thea andrews. we have her friend hugh jackman with us angered and saying this has crossed the line. >> once again, it's stars versus the paparazzi and it's trending now. >> actress nicole kidman hit by a photographer on a bike on the sidewalk. she was injured. >> i'm walking around, but i was shaken. >> a shocking case of a photographer literally out of control.

>> i have just left that up to the police. >> nicole kidman knocked to the ground and paramedics rushed to the scene. look closely. here's the moment of impact caught on tape as the 49-year-old oscar winner entered the carlisle hotel. the paparazzo who was cited for riding his bike on a sidewalk but not arrested. kidman was returning from the calvin klein runway show where she sat next to vogue editor anna wintour. >> i want to ask you about your fellow ausian nicole kidman. last night with nicole's friend hugh jackman at the premiere of "prisoners." >> there's no reason for that or no need for all that craziness, particularly it's a friend of mine and i hate to hear that she's in that situation. you know, and she -- i mean, she understands the public side to our job -- we understand that -- but it crosses the line. sometimes it gets a little crazy. i've had that where my son has been hit by a camera swinging around. it's hit him. and i'm like, it takes all my l strength not to deck the guy.