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Sheriff warns of fraudulent credit card ring
By DUANE BOURNE BROOKSVILLE -- The Hernando County Sheriff's Office has alerted businesses and financial institutions that a stolen credit card ring in Orlando may have expanded its reach to Hernando County. The warning, received by businesses and residents who subscribe to the office's phone, fax or computer alert systems, came after authorities received several reports of people using fraudulent American Express cards to make hundreds of dollars in purchases at restaurants and stores during the past week, said sheriff's spokesman Lt. Joseph Paez. There were even more calls Thursday of people trying to pass off bogus cards, signaling law enforcement officials that an organized ring involving American Express cards has spilled into Hernando, Paez said. The first case was reported Sunday when a man used an American Express corporate credit card at the Outback Steakhouse on Commercial Way in Spring Hill to purchase a meal. After the card was rejected three times, the man produced another American Express card that authorities believe was from another country. Employees at the restaurant grew more suspicious when the man returned two days later with another corporate credit card, and they alerted authorities. But it was not until Tuesday -- and several similar reports -- that authorities realized the cases might be connected to a ring that has been reported in Orange County. American Express officials told authorities that there have been several cases of thieves obtaining cardholders' personal information in the Orlando area and encrypting it onto fraudulent credit cards. In all cases, the victims have been from Puerto Rico, a sheriff's report stated. "It seems like all the people (involved) were Hispanic," Paez said. He said the Sheriff's Office began exchanging information with the Orlando Police Department on Thursday. Paez said authorities have seen an increase in identity theft in Hernando County in the past year, with a dramatic increase in cases of fraudulent credit cards being used. Paez attributed the spike in identity theft to increased computer use, the growth of Internet commerce and the availability of devices and computer software that thieves can use to steal credit card information. Paez said that if cardholders do not pay attention to activity on their cards, or businesses do not verify information on credit cards, fraudulent use of a card can go unnoticed for several weeks. "That's how they manage to evade us," he said. Authorities encourage cardholders to examine statements and businesses to check receipts with the names on credit cards to avoid an increasingly popular form of identify theft called skimming. Paez described the scheme as a two-step operation in which thieves, using a battery-operated scanner, capture account data stored cards' magnetic strips. The information is sold and later infused on another lost or stolen credit card. The hand-held device, no larger than a pocket-sized tape recorder, can be purchased on the Internet, Paez said. -- Duane Bourne covers law enforcement and emergency services in Hernando County and can be reached at 754-6114. Send e-mail to dbourne@sptimes.com.
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