Crime & Safety
Clinton Police Warn Residents of Credit Card Information Thefts
Police have received an increase of identity theft complaints in which credit cards aren't being stolen but the information on the card is.
CLINTON, CT — Clinton Police are warning residents of an increase of identity theft complaints the department has received recently.
Police say the method being used by the suspects is that the suspects are obtaining the credit card information from unsuspecting victims and then making fraudulent charges utilizing the victim’s credit card information.
“In all of these cases the actual credit card has not been stolen just the information from the magnetic strip on the back side of the actual card,” police said in a post on Facebook.
Find out what's happening in Clintonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
There are many ways the information can be stolen, according to police.
“In some cases a person can take possession of your credit card and have a handheld scanner that they swipe your card through therefore obtaining the information on the magnetic strip,” police wrote. “Other ways if there is a breach somewhere in the store that you are patronizing they can steal the actual credit card information and sell it on the internet. In some cases the suspect will put some type of scanning device on an ATM or gas pump so when you use your card they obtain the information.”
Find out what's happening in Clintonfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Police said that in most cases, the victims are unaware that their information has been stolen until they are notified by their bank of the fraud.
“In a majority of these cases the banking institutions are not requiring a police report for the fraud and therefore the cardholders are not coming to the Police Department to report the fraud,” police said. “The Clinton Police Department is asking that if you are notified of fraud on your account or believe you are a victim of such a crime to please report this as you are not the only victim. The Police Department needs to obtain as much information as possible from as many sources as possible to build a case and eventually identify the suspects perpetrating these crimes.”
Image via Shutterstock
Also see:
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
