Police Ask Victims to Come Forward As Flood of Fraud Claims Hit Teaneck
About a hundred local residents have claimed their credit card information was stolen.
About a hundred Teaneck residents have claimed fraudulent charges on their credit cards since Wednesday, leading township police to urge residents to officially report the alleged activity.
Councilman Elie Y. Katz said he received a flood of emails from residents who recently learned their card numbers were used for purchases as far away as the Midwest.
As reports began to surface, Katz and Councilman Yitz Stern posted a message to TeaneckShuls, a popular local e-mail list. The council members also began compiling a list of possible victims to share with police.
“We’ve literally gotten over 80 responses back,” Katz said a few hours after the message was sent late Thursday morning. Responses have included lists of multiple residents who said they were scammed.
“We’re just looking to help facilitate,” he said. “We’re not looking to do an investigation.”
Katz said he too was a victim of two fraudulent $5 credit card charges at hotels in the Midwest. Other residents, he said, have reported pricey purchases.
“Someone told me this morning they had a $700 charge,” he said.
Katz said residents should contact their credit companies and local police department.
The reported charges vary, with some area residents saying their cards were used in Canada, Colorado and Las Vegas. Residents with a range of credit card companies have claimed fraudulent activity and it was not known if all the charges were linked.
Katz said the apparent cluster of fraud has left locals asking if their card information could have been lifted from an area store.
“They’re all wondering if there was a merchant, unknowingly, who has a device setup to capture the cards,” he said. “It seems there’s a big cluster in Teaneck.”
Police, however, said they received few official reports and had no immediate evidence pointing to any specific type of scam.
Teaneck Police Chief Robert Wilson urged any potential victims to immediately alert authorities. The chief said he had heard informally about the charges, but police needed more victims to come forward to aid in the investigation.
Credit card statements, dates and times of recent purchases would also help police piece together any potential scam, he said. Residents were asked to make reports by visiting police headquarters anytime.
“We’re trying to find some kind of common link,” Wilson said Thursday. “Please report it to your local police department so we can take action on it.”
Teaneck Police Headquarters is located at 900 Teaneck Road.
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Tee Smyth
2:25 pm on Friday, May 18, 2012
So, I'm the victim of fraud, and the person whom I alert is......a council person? Not the police, a council person. I'll excuse that, but it gets good when the council people take it upon themselves to go to a "popular" email listserv to warn "others."
Tell me. What's wrong with this picture?
Katz and Stern make it so easy to campaign FOR anyone running against them.
JamesTS
2:37 pm on Friday, May 18, 2012
The article said the council men told residents to call the Police. I think its helpful if council people know of a community problem that they are taking action. Not everything is politics now. Now that there is a article published more people will know and call directly to the police. Bigger issue is getting this problem stopped.
Tom Abbott
10:24 pm on Sunday, May 20, 2012
The story has been updated somewhat since it originally appeared under the title, "Scores of Teaneck Residents Claim to be Victims of Credit Card Fraud." In the original version there was no mention of the council men telling residents to contact the police.
JAD
10:43 pm on Sunday, May 20, 2012
Wait TeaneckShuls is a popular local e-mail list?
Thanks for looking out for all of Teanecks residents. I find it odd that I get emails asking for voter support but zip for this. I guess TeaneckShuls is only a popular e-mail list during non election time. Duly noted.
Tee Smyth
10:15 am on Monday, May 21, 2012
BINGO! This is the school bus debate rearing its ugly head in another form.
JamesTS
12:57 am on Monday, May 21, 2012
not sure what you are talking about because i do not follow teaneck politics that close. BUT i do think alerting the Media for an article is a way of informing the general public. my two cents. truthfully all i care about is the credit card issue. Election is over.
JAD
10:39 am on Monday, May 21, 2012
Patch is a way of alerting the general public, a solid day after they send a message on TeaneckShuls. You know the popular e-mail list in Teaneck.
My point was around election time these counsel members don't seem to have any issue getting their hands on my email address to ask me for a vote or to support one of their friends. But once the election is over, my email becomes elusive and TeaneckShuls is the only listing they are able to communicate through.
Also, Noah, did either of the counsel members contact you for this article or did you seek them out after hearing reports of this for another source?
Jacob
12:51 pm on Monday, May 21, 2012
Thank you, Messrs. Katz and Stern, for alerting the media and public to this problem. If not for your posting, regardless of where it was, the media would never have picked it up. As you can see, no good deed goes unpunished.
JAD
4:36 pm on Monday, May 21, 2012
I'm glad you got the point to my statements Jack.
I hope you can also see sarcasm is alive and well
Tee Smyth
1:42 pm on Monday, May 21, 2012
LOL. That's certainly one way of looking at it, Jack.
Jennifer Glass
5:55 pm on Thursday, May 24, 2012
For those members of the Teaneck community who have had their credit cards compromised, there is a greater chance that the breach happened between 2011 and Feb of this year, as reported by Global Payments and confirmed by Visa & MasterCard in March of this year. The Teaneck Chamber of Commerce has posted information on its facebook pages as well (https://www.facebook.com/TeaneckCoC) in terms of the breaches and through my company's blog (http://blog.creditcardsnj.com/2012/03/visa-mastercard-confirm-security-breach) and facebook postings (http://www.facebook.com/Payments4Business) as well.
Anyone who feels that they have been victimized by a fraud on their credit or debit cards should immediately contact their credit card company and report the charges as fraudulent. The banks will then take the steps necessary to investigate the claim and if appropriate, fully credit your account back, provided you have reported the loss in time (or you may be liable for a nominal $50 amount, depending on your card and bank). You can find the number to contact your bank either on a statement you receive from them or on the back of your credit card. Remember to keep copies of all correspondences with the banks as this may be necessary in the future to substantiate your claims.
JamesTS
7:09 pm on Thursday, May 24, 2012
Dear Jennfer Glass: I am somewhat concerned you are using this comment to sell personal business services. Where are you getting your informtion from? I read this article and see quotes from Police with no mention of where the fraud is coming from.Please be careful with making suggestions when you are not involved or in any official capacity. The article quotes Teaneck Police Chief saying to report the frauds to police dept. I think that is most advisable and allow the investigation to proceed. Just my View. Thank you.
Jennifer Glass
7:12 pm on Thursday, May 24, 2012
James, I am merely reporting information that Global Payments has released and Visa and MasterCard confirmed. Whether I get any business or not is not the reason for my post. It is to simply advise people what to do. And in every case of credit card fraud, the first call should be to the credit card company. You can always file a police report later, should you so desire.
JamesTS
7:26 pm on Thursday, May 24, 2012
Respectfully i do not think you should be posting conflicting advice from the Police Dept. They said to file a report i assume to help in any investigation. Dont you find it odd that all these people are suddenly finding the problem in Teaneck? the article says it was all different companies.. I dont feel that rumors are helpful when it is a police matter. Have the police confirmed any such link to some major national problem? i do not see that in this story or another story i watched on Channel 2 about this. I thank you for your concern but i dont think unconfirmed information is very helpful. Lets please let the police handle this.
Jennifer Glass
7:31 pm on Thursday, May 24, 2012
James, Please be aware that the latest numbers being addressed from recent media reports put the card breach at 10 million cards stolen. Since we, in the Teaneck area, likely purchase items in NYC or have used our cards with NYC businesses, it is possible that the card data was stolen at that time. The information stolen between the beginning of 2011 and February of this year included track 1 and track 2 data, meaning that the FULL magnetic information was compromised.
And as far as filing a police report, as I said - by all means, file a claim. But, the police cannot dispute a charge on your credit card statement just by you filing a police report. You need to contact the credit card company and file an official "chargeback" notice which will then allow the credit card companies to investigate the fraud and credit you for the loss. And I believe I have a bit more expertise than some others who have been quoted as a member of the industry in which the fraud occurred.
3blenders.com
8:30 pm on Friday, August 31, 2012
The final victims are the merchants, and not the credit card account owners. this is how it works:
A fraudulent purchase takes place. All security blocks are passed successfully, the last 3 digits are given, billing address matches, etc... total legitimate purchase. The product is shipped out. And a few weeks later the merchant receives a 'charge-back' claim from his credit card merchant services (the real owner filed a dispute - found out that his cc was misused...). The money paid for the goods shipped elsewhere is being taken out from the merchant's account to pay back the legit cc owner. The merchant can dispute the charge back with documents that he shipped the goods. Then the cc owners back disputes it again, and its up to the courts to collect for the merchant.
Myself, as a merchant, we always pursue legit customer purchases criminally and civilly - full extent. But if its in timbactu country and the country, especially in Russia, merchants lose out. In Canada, we have yet to get a dime back as well. But we are working with the FBI who interlocks with Canadian authorities to recover stolen goods.
Remember, disputing a charge after one has received the goods is theft, which is a crime.
Hope this helps