SYRACUSE -- 50 people have come forward to police so far, claiming they have charges on their credit and debit cards that they didn't make.
The Syracuse Police Department is warning anyone who may have used a credit or debit card at the Onondaga County Civic Center, War Memorial or Oncenter within the past ten months to check their bank statements. Police are investigating a series of fraudulent credit card transactions potentially related to a data breach in and around the complex. At this point, all the victims that have come forward spent money at the Civic Center but police are still working to pin point where the breach took place.
"A lot of the charges were originally being made overseas, in particular Russia and then we had some charges in Canada. And most recently we've seen some in the United States. Right now we believe that this is some type of computer hack where they got in, they got the credit card numbers and cloned peoples credit cards," said Syracuse Police Sergeant Tom Connellan.
Connellan says not all victims have had money taken from their accounts. Most banks have protections in place, that filter through transactions and block any that seem suspicious, like transactions from overseas. Connellan says all the victims still have their credit cards, which means the numbers were cloned.
Police are recommending that as a precaution anyone who has used their credit and/or debit card at any of the locations mentioned to check over their statements for any fraudulent activity.
If you find anything suspicious, you're asked to gather together any and all bank statements showing unauthorized charges and call (315) 442-5111. Victims are also advised to contact their financial institution.
Click here for some tips on how to protect yourself from credit card fraud.
