JACKSON, Mich.—An influx of more than $100,000 in card fraud has Michigan police urging consumers to monitor their accounts.
The Jackson County Major Crimes Task Force, a unit that consists of detectives from four police agencies, has been activated to investigate reports from more than 300 victims, a statement from the Michigan State Police said. Victims have reported the losses in the last several months.
Jackson County Sheriff Steve Rand told Mlive.com that his office has received about three reports of credit card fraud a day over the last several weeks. He said in many cases, the cardholder's banking information was stolen during a data breach at a major retailer and then sold to someone who "clones" the information onto a blank credit card.
The Columbia Township Police office has also received several fraud reports a day and have active investigations. In most cases, the cardholders still have possession of their physical card but are finding charges made to their accounts throughout the southern Michigan area and in some cases out of state authorities stated.
"There are a number of local financial institutions with debit cards that have been hit, and it does not appear to be any one specific bank or credit union," Columbia Township Police Chief David Elwell said in an e-mail to Mlive.com. "If a person finds that they have been victimized, they need to contact the institution that issued their card, to have them take corrective action. Consulting with your local police agency is also recommended, to determine the necessity of an investigation."
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