Police: Good Samaritan Robbed of $500; Cloned Credit Card Leads to Theft

Bloomfield Township

Cloned card scam

A resident visited the Bloomfield Township Police Department on March 5 to report two unauthorized transactions on his debit card that were made within Oakland County. The victim said he did not know how his information was compromised, and investigators said they believe the card was cloned, police reports said.

Cloning or skimming credit cards is a newer version of an old crime when it comes to fraud, according to Creditnet.com. Someone with access to the card obtains your specific credit card details and copies them onto a bogus card that is ready to use, and not easily detectable right away.

The investigation is ongoing.

Cash stolen from good samaritan's purse

A woman receiving a pedicure at Quenlyn & Company Salon told police that $500 was taken from her purse while she left it unattended to help someone that fainted in the business on March 1.

The victim said she was in the pedicure area when some fainted and fell, reports said. She left her purse in that area and went to see if she could help. No injuries were reported, and she returned a few minutes later. Reports said she realized the money was missing when she went to pay for the pedicure. The investigation is ongoing.

Identity Theft

A resident in the 2000 block of Pamela Court told police he discovered someone made several unauthorized bank transfers from his account to multiple other accounts totalling $6,000, police reports said. Investigators said all the transfers occurred online, and they are working with the bank's fraud department to identify a suspect.

Anyone with information on any of the incidents listed here should call the department at 248-433-7752.

Bloomfield Hills

Officials with the Bloomfield Hills Department of Public Safety reported no major police or fire-related incidents during the past week.

For questions about this blotter, email Art.Aisner@Patch.com.