SONORA, CA - The Tuolumne County Sheriff's Department is dealing with hundreds of cases of identity theft after bank card information was recently stolen.
"I would say last Friday we saw an increase. Then all of a sudden, there's been a tidal wave of people calling," said Sheriff Jim Mele.
Victims tell investigators they're seeing purchases on their debit cards from all over the world.
"Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and a few in Arizona, as far away as Mexico and Sri Lanka," said Mele.
The sheriff can't pinpoint where the information was stolen but he speculates a "skimmer" device was placed into a credit machine somewhere in the county and that's how customer information was stolen.
"When you put your debit card or credit card in, it downloads your information and now they have your number and information from that skimmer," said Mele.
Stacey Fulkerson of Jamestown is one of many recent victims.
"Last week I was out of town. My husband called and said $400 was taken from our account. It was from Victoria's Secret and someone in Florida charged our card," she said.
Fulkerson said a relative and a close friend also discovered recent purchases on their accounts that they didn't make.
Mele said it was likely the thief sold the stolen information. That would explain purchases happening so far away.
He suggested people be careful to check their accounts and statements to make sure they haven't been victimized.
By tdaly@news10.net
News10/KXTV