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port albert

Beach Comber
Jul 11, 2005
39
10
To repeat Bechbebe's request.......were they credit cards or debit cards? Also...what were the dates of the transactions?

Thanks
 

AirRocker

Beach Lover
Dec 21, 2011
88
1
My Check (Debit) Card was compromised about a week ago. The fraudulent charges were processed as credit though. All charges were on 2/27.

They only got away with about $100 worth of charges before the card was suspended and I was called by the fraud department. They made charges with FedEx (which seems odd), a gas station in South Florida, and used it twice at the Winn Dixie in Miramar Beach (one of those charges was declined).

I've used it all over SoWal, including all three local Publix (if it is indeed tied to there).
 
Last edited:

Kurt

Admin
Staff member
Oct 15, 2004
2,233
4,925
SoWal
mooncreek.com
The Walton County Sheriff’s Office (WCSO) is asking victims and citizens to meet with investigators to discuss a current scam used to fraudulently obtain personal and financial information from victims.

Multiple citizens contacted the WCSO on March 7 regarding what appeared to be fraudulent charges on their debit and credit card accounts. These fraudulent charges are not isolated to a single banking institution, and many of the charges occurred at retail stores throughout the state during the first weekend of March.

The WCSO is asking the public to review their recent financial statements for any questionable charges and fees.

The WCSO is hosting a Scam Alert meeting to gather information from citizens affected by this potential scam to identify suspects and their methods for defrauding individuals.

Scam Alert Meeting Information:
What:
Scam Alert Meeting
When:
Friday, March 9 at 10 a.m.

Where:
WCSO South Walton Substation
133 Sheriff Drive
Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.

If you observe abnormalities in your financial records and believe you are affected by this possible scam, you are encouraged to bring financial transaction records from the first weekend of March to the Scam Alert meeting.

Formal complaints will be accepted during this meeting.

1 850.892.8186
 

ricklys

Beach Lover
Dec 17, 2008
75
20
Rosemary Beach
Happened to me at the Walmart in PCB. Sounds like someone is cruising the area with a RFID reader and skimming card numbers to clone. I bought an Aluma wallet (metal) to keep all my cards in and only pull it out at the register, and put it away immediately. So far so good. An empty Altoids container works too!
 

James Bentwood

Beach Fanatic
Feb 24, 2005
1,495
607
After I finished the call with my bank, I contacted the Sheriff's office and they said they have had about fifty calls on this today. Hopefully the local news will make the decision to disseminate the information/alert out to the community so they will be aware.

[h=1][/h]

If it's on the news it's old news. I got email from a friend, text from a local company I do business with, and a link to this thread yesterday.
 

concernednxtgen

Beach Comber
Jul 25, 2008
7
0
I got a call from the fraud department at my bank on Friday. Figured it was an isolated incident until my friend got a call from her bank yesterday. I also personally know of one other person this happened to. And someone that I know who works at Watercolor said seven of the ladies in their office have had this happen.

I have a metal wallet.... obviously that didn't help. The only difference is that they attempted to use my card at a Walmart in South Carolina.
 

kmbruner

Beach Comber
Jul 1, 2009
13
0
My credit card was used yesterday by somebody other than me at a Georgia Walmart for 4 purchases of $90 each before my credit card company froze it and called me. I had recently used the card at the Seagrove Tom Thumb (among other local places including another gas station) and possibly at the Watercolor Publix (but that would have been 1-2 weeks ago).
 

meamea

Beach Comber
Sep 5, 2006
46
0
Santa Rosa Beach
When visiting South Florida with friends all three of us had our credit cards scammed and we determined it was at a local Publix. The police said that there is a huge ring that operates out of South Florida. We have also had credit cards scammed at interstate gas stations when we traveled. Now we pay cash along the interstate for gas.
We were lucky because in every instance that we were scammed, out credit card company noticed the unusal charges and notified us.
 

concernednxtgen

Beach Comber
Jul 25, 2008
7
0
Did anyone attend the meeting?

I did! There were about 25 people there, but they expected to be hearing from others. At this point they are trying to figure out the common denominator between everyone to figure out where the numbers are being taken from. Most of the activity seemed to center around this weekend and the race in Seaside. However, that doesn't mean you had to be in Seaside to have your number ripped off.

One woman at the meeting had two cards that were affected, and the second she hasn't used in the area in months....

Whoever is taking the numbers is either making clones of the cards, or selling the numbers to people who are making clone cards. In a previous investigation, apparently similar to this, they had surveillance video of the suspect also using a cloned ID. Meaning the name on the ID matched that on the cloned credit/debit card but with the suspect's picture. If this is happening again then it is more than credit card fraud... it could be identity theft. They encouraged all of us to contact the credit agencies to report the issue in the case that someone should try to get cell phones, etc in our names.

I would encourage anyone who has been victim of this to go to the substation and fill out the paperwork. It really doesn't take very long. It took less than an hour including the meeting. Without the meeting I could have been out in about 10 minutes. Take a print out of your card usage for the last week or so of February and this week. If you can't go to them .... like Marianna Toyota they will come to you! If you're from out of town. Call and see if there is someway you can file over the phone!

Really though.... take the time to go help with the investigation so they can catch these creeps that are making us all nervous and skeptical in our quaint little town!
 
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