With Reports of at Least $51k in Fraudulent Charges Since Dec., Police Remind Residents to Shop Safely

Credit card fraud and identity theft are among the most common crimes committed against Sammamish residents - with several new cases usually reported every week.

The money lost can range from a few dollars to thousands of dollars, all without the consumer realizing it before it’s too late. Since the middle of December until early March, more than $51,000 in fraudulent credit or debit card charges have been reported by residents to Sammamish police, according to crime reports.

Because of the frequency of these crimes, Sammamish police want to remind residents to shop and surf in a secure manner.

One of the more common ways that people have their credit card information stolen is through skimming, a process by which the perpetrator physically copies a credit or debit card by swiping it through some type of illegal scanner, Sammamish police Sgt. Jessica Sullivan said.

This collection of personal financial information can happen when someone hands his or her card to a waiter or cashier, who then disappears from view and returns with it a few moments later. It can even happen right in front of the person if the perpetrator is stealthy enough.

The best defense against skimming is to be cautious and to pay with cash if you have the option, Sullivan said. She encouraged people to keep track of their bills and report any suspicious charge to their banks for investigation.

Credit card and bank information also is often stolen from mailboxes. "We strongly encourage people to get secured, locking mailboxes," Sullivan said.

If buying just one box isn’t practical for you, see if you can share the costs with a group of neighbors and buy a bank of locking boxes, she added.

A few years ago, two people from the Seattle area were charged with taking credit cards from people exercising at health gyms for an elaborate online sales scheme.

Unfortunately, people sometimes unknowingly participate in the crimes against by volunteering sensitive information either online or over the phone. Sammamish police encourage people to never give out credit card numbers, bank account numbers or other personal information like usernames and passwords when solicited by e-mail or phone.

No reputable company should be asking you for that information to begin with, Sullivan said. So, if someone is asking for your bank account number by e-mail, that person is probably not affiliated with your bank.

Sensitive information can also be compromised if the network or site you're on isn't protected. "Using unsecured networks is also problematic," Sullivan said.

Consumers should check to see that a network or site is secure before doing anything like paying bills or transmitting personal data.

"If you’re checking your bank account, if you’re transmitting other private information, you want to make sure you’re doing that over a secure connection," she said.

Look for "https" in a Web site's URL, a sign that the site is secure. Also look for symbols like padlocks or trusted names like "VeriSign." If you have any doubts, call the business or organization in question and confirm that their network or site is safe. The Federal Trade Commission also has valuable tips for consumers about identity theft.

People should also make an effort to keep a close eye on their bank account and their credit report. In many cases, people don’t realize that their accounts have been compromised until they see a string of strange charges on their bank statement.

Sullivan reminds residents that they have to play an active part in crime prevention. In addition to the dollar loss, victims spend hours contacting their banks about the crime, trying to secure new credit and debit cards and filing police reports.

"For crime to occur, it requires desire and it requires opportunity," she said. "Opportunity is the part of it we can control. So the more people can minimize their exposure, the less likely they are to be victims of crime."