By Jack Firneno
Wire Staff Writer
Home to one of the largest malls on the East Coast, Montgomery County sees its share of retail theft and credit card fraud, especially during the holiday shopping season. But, while more and more people are concerned about cyber fraud or Internet crimes as they do their Christmas shopping, they may be better off looking out for criminals who operate the “the old-fashioned” way.
“There are more people out and the stores are more crowded,” explained Steven Latzer, a Montgomery County deputy district attorney. “That provides a better opportunity for someone to do something and walk out without being noticed.”
When stores are jam-packed with shoppers, he continued, it’s harder for people to notice a person doing something like looking over your shoulder to get your credit card number — a much more likely scenario for fraud than an online offender.
“It’s one thing if it’s July and someone’s hovering right over you [at the register]. Then you’re aware of it. But when there are hundreds of people around in winter, that’s normal. Everyone’s jammed in, so when someone bumps into you that’s not unusual,” Latzer explained, adding that thieves can also get close enough to snap a photo on their phone. “That increased activity means more fraud, and more credit card numbers getting compromised.”
The bigger crowds also make it harder for store security to catch someone who’s up to no good.
“If someone just wanders into a store and doesn’t look interested in buying anything, that draws attention,” Latzer offered, explaining that suspicious activity is harder to spot in a crowded space.
Of course, online crime is a real threat too — and some crooks use the holidays to tug at people’s heartstrings in order to exploit them. Latzer recalls a recent case in Exton, Chester County, where criminals scoped out a young woman’s Facebook page and other information she had on the web, where they got her email address and learned that her parents were vacationing in Europe.
“She got an email that looked like it came from her parents saying their car broke down, they lost their purse and wallet, and needed her to wire them $500 so they could make it home for the holidays,” said Latzer.
Of course, her parents were fine — but the young woman had a few hundred less to spend on Christmas presents.
Latzer said similar hoaxes are popping up more and more, and especially in December when scammers can weave the holidays into their deceptions. But, he noted, the Internet can be used to protect people from crime just as much as it can make them victims of it — especially during the time of year when credit card fraud is rampant.
If a crook gets your credit card information, for instance, they can rack up charges until you notice something’s up, and then cancel the card. However, most people won’t notice any discrepancies until their banking statement comes in the mail, which can give criminals a few weeks of carte blanche spending until they’re found out.
That’s changing now that people can check their balances and transactions any time they want, even from their phone. “I always tell people, use online banking even if only to check your statements every two or three days,” said Latzer. This way, he explained, you can call your bank or credit card company much sooner if something’s amiss.
And, he added, always be on the lookout for small purchases you didn’t make, especially from somewhere like a gas station where a person can swipe a card themselves without interacting with anyone. “When someone gets a stolen credit card, they want to try it first to see if it works, and it’s easiest to go somewhere they’re not monitored.”
Crooks often try a small purchase, maybe $1, to see if it works. “People will think it’s a glitch on their statement and blow it off,” continued Latzer, “but they shouldn’t — it’s a huge clue.”
