The investigation into an identity theft ring that tampered with a PIN pad at an Albertsons supermarket has broadened to include another store. The number of reported victims has already topped 100 people who lost about $70,000.
Investigators now believe a group of thieves replaced a PIN pad, at the Albertsons stores with a nearly identical pad that would steal customer's account information and PIN numbers, sheriff's Detective Greg Swetnam said.
The thieves then would use cloned credit cards to clean out the victims' bank accounts through ATM withdrawals, Swetnam said. The operation began on the East Coast; then moved on to Southern California, where several merchants were targeted. The federal Secret Service has been tracking the group.
