Police bring in FBI as fraud reports increase

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Add Girl Scouts of Montana and Wyoming to the list of recent credit card fraud victims.

The nonprofit agency was listed along with more than 20 other calls to Casper police on Wednesday reporting credit card fraud.

Those calls bring the list to approximately 120.

Because of this spree's severity and national scope, the Casper Police Department is now working with the FBI to try and solve the case as quickly as possible, according to Casper Sgt. Steve Schulz.

The FBI has greater resources to be able to devote to this case, Schulz said. The Casper police will still collect reports from victims, talk to local businesses and banks and investigate the cases locally.

John Powell, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Cheyenne, said the FBI is consulting with the Casper police and didn't have anything new to report as of Thursday afternoon.

Some of the fraudulent charges date back to the end of August and beginning of September, according to Casper Det. Robin Tuma.

Police officials are still investigating possible links between the scores of reports, but Tuma said it's possible that the fake card holders used some of the cards earlier in the year to make sure they worked before spending thousands during the holiday season.

As reports increase, Schulz also noticed an increase in the number of fraud cases not related to the current spree.

"I think everyone is starting to be a lot more vigilant and starting to pay more attention to their credit cards and bank accounts," Schulz said. "Now anything that is out of the norm they are starting to call us on where a month ago they probably wouldn't have."

Schulz said he expects another 20 or more reports each day for the next several weeks if not months.

"I really can't tell you how to stop it at this point. I really don't know where to go to shut this down," he said. "We are working on it, we are trying to figure out where the information is getting drawn out and used fraudulently."

Casper isn't the only town hit recently.

Las Vegas officials indicted 25 people this week in a local credit card fraud and identity theft spree. The crimes resulted in more than $1.5 million in losses and authorities estimate 1,000 credit and debit cards were compromised.

Similarly, police in Longmont, Colo., reported between 80 and 100 cases of credit and debit card fraud on Tuesday. An ongoing tally has more than $100,000 worth of fraudulent charges.

Schulz said he doesn't know at this point if the three sprees are connected.

If anyone notices an unusual charge on their credit or debit cards, Schulz urges them to call the Casper Police Department to report the fraud at (307) 235-8278.

Contact city reporter Christine Robinson at (307) 266-0639 or christine.robinson@trib.com

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