The Biz Buzz - New keychain credit card scam spotted

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Friday, August 17th, 2007

Posted by Devona Wells @ 01:27:34 pm

This from staff writer Dan Beekman:

A new trend in identity theft has surfaced in Gig Harbor, the South Sound Business Examiner reported Thursday.

According to Gig Harbor police, suspects are scanning stolen keychain credit cards into a computer, obtaining account numbers and expiration dates, and changing the names on the cards to their own.

The suspects print false information onto plastic sheets with self-adhesive backing, which are stuck over stolen mini-cards and trimmed to fit.

The doctored cards don’t work when swiped by cashiers, but do match the suspects’ identification.

The suspects ask cashiers to enter victims’ account numbers manually. Since the account numbers are valid, the transactions process.

Police have asked that stores’ cashiers be informed.

Categories: General

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Marce Edwards is the business editor. She has been at The News Tribune for seven years and has written about technology and big businesses in the South Sound including Weyerhaeuser and Russell. Before moving to Tacoma, she worked at The Idaho Statesman in Boise. She is a Northwest native who likes to garden and refuses to use an umbrella. She lives in Tacoma with her husband and two kids.

C.R. Roberts is a Tacoma native. Before joining The News Tribune, he worked as a freelance writer and part-time cowhand on a cattle ranch in Northern Idaho. He writes about small business, personal finance and other business issues.

John Gillie writes about the aerospace and airline industries, commercial development and consumer issues. During his 30-year-tenure at The News Tribune he has covered issues as diverse as the Native American fishing rights disputes, crime and the courts, the wood products industry and energy. He lived in Tacoma with his family for 25 years, but now lives in Kent because his wife heads a five-state non-profit foundation headquartered in Ballard, and it only seemed a sensible compromise to make considering their workplaces are 40 miles apart.

Kelly Kearsley has been a business reporter at The News Tribune since 2005. She covers the Port of Tacoma and international trade. Being born and raised in Spokane she’s used to living in cities with inferiority complexes and, in fact, prefers it. Prior to working at The News Tribune, she spent three years as a reporter for The Bulletin in Bend, Oregon and another year working stints for The Associated Press and Seattle Times. She graduated from Pacific Lutheran University. She lives in Tacoma with her husband and miniature schnauzer.