Since Jan. 1, the has received 13 reports of identity theft, and police say they’ve recently had two to three residents per day coming in to file identity theft reports.
The reports come on the heels of the discovery of “fraud skimmers” that were planted inside gas station pumps to steal ATM and credit card information.
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However, Sierra Madre police say that it’s still too early to determine whether any or all of these identity thefts stem from swiping at Valero.
“The sticky part about it is that people have used their cards in many locations,” said Lt. Len Hundshamer of the Sierra Madre Police Department. While Lt. Hundshamer says that police don’t have a reason to suspect that there are other locations in Sierra Madre that were hit with fraud skimmers, there may be places throughout the region that were targeted.
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While police don’t have any leads yet on the Valero incident, they are working with the U.S. Secret Service on the case. Valero gas station remains open and nearby Sierra Madre Gas Square has taken steps to begin installation of a 24/7 video surveillance system.
Mayor Speaks on Valero Card Scammers
“It’s a little bit of déjà vu, but our police department is on top of this, and they think they’ve got a good handle on what happened, and how,” said Mayor Buchanan at Tuesday night’s City Council meeting. “We have called in the Secret Service because they have some experience with our prior problem of gas station theft… We encourage everybody who has used [Valero] to check their bills at least going back to Dec. 1,” said Buchanan.
Have you been a recent victim of identity theft? We'd like to speak with you. Please email Cassandra Morris at sierramadrepatch@gmail.com.