SEBASTIAN COUNTY (KFSM) — Fort Smith and Greenwood police are teaming up to catch several suspects accused of stealing people's credit card data.
According to Fort Smith Police, the suspects have been able to get debit card information from several people and have used that information to create fake debit cards. They then use the cloned cards to withdraw money from ATMs.
Police say the suspects have taken more than $80,000 from several different victims in the area.
Back in December Shawn Ruminer was driving home when he suddenly got an alert from his bank. Someone had just taken $260 from his account.
"Which pretty much wiped out our account with what we had left in there, and that was actually our food money," said Ruminer.
Police say the suspects are using skimming devices at gas pumps and ATMs to collect the information.
Officers say if something doesn't look right, call local law enforcement.
"It will stick out the majority of skimmers. What they’ll do is put the skimmer on the face of the ATM or gas pump. It’ll stick out, it’ll protrude a little bit," said Lt. Nicholas Driscoll with the Greenwood Police Department.
Ruminer says he plans to keep a closer eye on his finances with mobile apps, and he recommends others do the same.
"Always keep a record of everything you do. If you ever see any type of thing that you don’t recognize, I would definitely call your bank and tell them," said Ruminer.
Police say if you think you may have been a victim of fraud the first thing you want to do is call your bank, and let them know you didn’t authorize those charges. This should stop the card from being used at other locations.
Police posted photos of what appears to be three suspects and their vehicles.
Anyone with information on the suspects is asked to call Det. Kelsey Sharp at (479) 709-5131 at the Fort Smith Police Department or Lt. Nicholas Driscoll, (479) 996-4119. Tipsters can also call Fort Smith Crimestoppers at (479) 78-CRIME. Those who call Crimestoppers may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000.
