Earlier in March, Bishop Police Chief Chris Carter announced that as many as 200 Bishop area citizens had reported that their credit or debit cards had been compromised and used in fraudulent purchases. The cases were turned over to the FBI and others. Bishop Police say they continue to get six to ten additional fraud reports a day.
According to Bishop Police Public Information Officer Katie Coffman, Chief Carter spoke with the State Department of Justice Computer Crimes Task Force about these cases. She said they were familiar with this type of crime which is widespread in many towns.
Coffman said Bishop Police continue to forward information to federal and state agencies. She also said that some credit card companies have “red-flagged” the Bishop area as a problem.
Initially, the Police Chief said that the most prominent locations of credit card number theft was at Von’s grocery and gas station, Smart & Final and Dwayne’s. Coffman said that since then Dwayne’s has made “significant changes to make its system safer.” She said Vons found nothing to indicate the crimes.
Now, Coffman said, victims mention a number of businesses where they used their cards but most mention Vons. Coffman said that the Police Department is still asking that victims of credit and debit card fraud give police information that can be compiled and forwarded to the Computer Crime Task Force.
The fact that there is a task force investigating computer crimes says it all. This is a widespread and common crime that seems to be growing and knows no favorites. Police Chief Carter and others in the Department have been victims along with scores of other local residents. The best advice? Use cash or checks if possible and examine your credit card statements closely.
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Banks and credit card companies offer several email and text alerts to monitor your accounts for fraud. For example, my bank offers email alerts for available balance, debit card/ATM deductions over $100.00 (minimum $100), debit card charges made online or by phone or by mail, debit card transactions outside the United States, direct deposits credited to my account, electronic drafts deducted over $100.00 (minimum $100), money transfers deducted over $100.00 (minimum $100), online bill payments deducted over $100.00 (minimum $100) and when a certain check (by number) that I have written is deducted from my account. My credit card company offers email alerts for when my available credit is less than a predetermined amount, more than a predetermined amount is authorized on my credit card for a single transaction, an international charge is authorized on my credit card, an online, phone or mail charge is authorized on my credit card , a gas station charge is authorized on my credit card, a balance transfer has been posted to my account, a payment has been posted to my account, my balance reaches a predetermined amount, my payment is due in a predetermined number of days, and when no payment was received for my account. Look for the “Alerts’ tab or link on your bank and credit cards websites to sign up for these alerts. Also call your bank and credit card companies’ customer service numbers and ask if your cards have an RFID chip which allows paying by just swiping the card over a terminal instead of swiping the card’s magnetic strip through a terminal. This easy payment method allows crooks to collect data from you card with an easily available electronic credit card reader that can collect your data as they just walk by you. Ask your bank and credit card companies to give you a card without the RFID chip.
I had the same warning today when I went to the Inyo Register…
Stay away from the Inyo Register and Mammoth Times websites. Used them yesterday and they were fine. This morning Norton and Mozilla blocked intrusion attempts. Apparently the cybercriminals have now attacked the news sites.
Mine got hit this weekend, last time I usedthe card was Vons last Wed.
They may have gotten your card info a month or two ago from some other local store transaction. It takes time to sell the card info, print new cards and try to use them.