September 29, 2010
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News: Credit Card Fraud; How Do They Do It? 71
Police in Lincoln, Nebraska said that over 100 of the city's credit card accounts were breached when thieves hacked into a national database. Additional victims of the breach stem from Canada to England. Investigators said that the thieves have been using the stolen credit card information to make purchases in cities across the country including Florida, California, and Chicago. It looks as though some stolen card information has been used to make purchase over the internet while others have been reproduced onto counterfeit credit cards and used at the point of sale. Floods said investigators are looking to see if the breach came from a Lincoln business. Investigators said the thieves have used the stolen numbers to buy gas, groceries, clothes, books and airline tickets. Most of the victims have already been reimbursed for the fraud thanks to quick reaction from the lenders. The name of the company where hackers broke into its computer system was not released, but the authorities are asking all cardholders to keep a close eye on their card statements.
In Miami Florida, the Better Business Bureau has warned residents to beware of any caller claiming to be Wal-Mart employees. The fraudsters are calling residents telling them they have won Wal-Mart gift cards and then asks for the individual's credit card information in order to activate the cards. Wal-Mart representatives have said that although the company does award gift cards to customers as a compensation for completing surveys, they do not conduct business in this way. A Wal-Mart spokesperson said they never ask recipients for their credit card information over the phone.
The Concord, New Hampshire Attorney General said Pamela Wilton was sentenced to 90 days in the House of Corrections for credit card theft. Wilton was a nursing assistant with the Interim Health Care and assigned to help the victim with personal and household duties when she stole two cards from the 83 year old patient and made 18 purchases.