August 12, 2010
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News: Red Cross Responds To Credit Card Theft
The Lexington, Kentucky Bluegrass Red Cross Chapter released a statement of apology to customers who purchased the Hoops for Haiti shirts. Individuals just trying to do a good deed and used their credit card to purchase a t-shirt from Cat Fan-Attic in support of the Haiti earthquake relief efforts found themselves a victim of credit card theft. According to court document, Michael Webb, a former Cat Fan-Attic employee, stole a list of customers' credit card numbers while working and then used them for illegal purposes including paying some of his telephone and utility bills, purchasing merchandise for personal use from Dick's Sporting Goods, purchasing movie tickets, and even paying for his bond for release from jail.
The list which contained over a 170 credit card numbers were recorded from phone orders during the Haiti relief drive. It is not fully know the extent to which Webb charged against the stolen cards or the exact number of cards that were used for illegal purposes. The Red Cross estimates that over two dozen cardholders have been victimized by Webb's illegal activities. The Cat Fan-Attic spokesperson said that the list of credit card numbers was only recorded from phone orders and that not all of them were for purchase of the Haiti shirt. The shop has taken precaution by sending out letters to all the cardholders involved in the breach and the community as a whole.
The Red Cross released its own statement saying that they were very disappointment to learn of the violation against its generous donors. The statement said that the Red Cross wants everyone to know that none of the donors' credit card numbers given during the "Hoops for Haiti" telethon have been compromised. The t-shirts that were purchased from Cat Fan-Attic contributed over $39,000 to the "Hoops for Haiti" relief effort. Overall, the "Hoops for Haiti" initiative was one of the U.S. largest fundraisers and was responsible for over raising over $1.5 million for the Haiti earthquake victims.