FAIRFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio – Police are looking for a pair of men they believe are responsible for a string of credit card thefts.
Nearly a dozen local victims of credit card identity theft all purchased gas at the same Murphy’s U.S.A. Police think thieves stole credit card information using a skimmer and went on a spending spree at Walmart.
Store surveillance video shows two men walking into the Princeton Pike Walmart. After a while, one of them goes to a self-checkout location and scans new gift cards and digs into his wallet for credit cards to pay. Detectives with the Fairfield Police Department said those credit cards were likely created with information stolen from people like Julie Tucker, one of the victims.
Tucker said she received a call from her bank about possible fraudulent activity. She checked her account online and saw a pair of $200 transactions fat the Walmart that she hadn’t made.
She and other victims made police and the Butler County Auditor’s Office aware of the fraud. Tom Kamphaus, the director of consumer services, checked the pumps at Murpy’s for skimmers.
“This is the one station I get the most complaints on,” he said. “Out of 132 stations, I get more complaints from this station than from any other station combined.”
However, Kamphaus said he didn’t find a skimmer at Murphy’s.
Police said the men suspected of the fraud also made purchases at the Florence Walmart. They may be driving a bright red Volkswagen Beetle. Police asked anyone with information about the crimes to call Crimestoppers at 513-352-3040.
