Credit, Debit Card Scam Scares Consumers

Some people have found themselves low on funds this holiday season because of a debit and credit card scam.

The scam is showing up in Volusia County and is now a federal investigation, WESH 2 News reported.

“I hope they find the bad guys and that they make them pay,” Henry Waters, a fraud victim, said.

Hundreds of victims are turning up at police stations and banks with hundreds of thousands of dollars stolen.

Although most banks are making good on the money, few people can afford to even briefly run short.

“It’s very hard, I live on disability. I work part time to make ends meet,” Waters said.

Police said they feel certain the thieves are using a high tech scanning device that fits right over the card reader at pay-at-the-pump gas stations, which is not something an average consumer would notice.

“For the most part, with this type of technology you wouldn’t notice anything was different with an ATM machine or a gas pump or anything,” Det. Heather Brady with the Edgewater Police Department said.

The device steals the information and the thieves make counterfeit cards that have been used in, among other places, Las Vegas, police said.

All gas station pumps are constantly being checked, but some consumers said they just won’t take any chances now.

“I will not use a debit card outside,” consumer Steve Heynik said. “I don?t want to use a debit card in the store because of what’s going on.

Police said they don?t know how much information the thieves captured because many accounts could still be in jeopardy.

Investigators suggest getting cash from a teller and paying for gas inside instead of at the pump.

This entry was posted on Sunday, December 24th, 2006 and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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How Credit Scores Affect Mortgage Applications

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