People with credit and debit cards are urged to keep a watchful eye on their account activity as a recent wave of card fraud has left law enforcement investigating multiple reports in Aiken County.

Capt. Eric Abdullah, with the Aiken County Sheriffs Office, said reports of credit card cloning, or skimming, is a common problem. Over the past week, he said there have been several reports of card cloning in the area, some from the same exact location.

John Brooks, of North Augusta, said his debit card was cloned and used on Feb. 3 at the Wal-Mart on Wrightsboro Road in Augusta.

I woke up on (Feb. 4), checked my account and it was $205 short, Brooks said. I looked at my transactions and saw my card had been swiped at Wal-Mart the night before.

Brooks said he went to get a transaction statement from Wal-Mart, where he learned someone had used his information to put money on a gift card.

The Aiken County Sheriffs Office has reports filed on Feb. 2 and Feb. 3, in which three separate residents claimed to have had their card information stolen and used at the same Wal-Mart in Augusta.

I think this problem is getting worse, and it seems like theres not much being done to stop it, Brooks said.

Credit card cloning is a technique where someone obtains credit card information and copies it onto a fake card in order to illegally use it, according to the FBI.

A small, pocketsize device with a scanning slot is typically what is used to steal the information, the FBI's website states.

Brooks said police informed him that when a suspect clones information from someones card they usually use the card within a day or two. He said he believes his information was taken at a fast-food restaurant drive-thru in Aiken County.

I wont be purchasing anything at a drive-thru anymore, he said.

Abdullah said the Aiken County Sheriffs Office will continue to address the situation, but residents can still protect themselves by not providing any credit card or financial information to any person or company they are not familiar with.

He also suggested residents continually keep up with their accounts to make sure nothing is happening that isnt supposed to.

Credit card cloning has become one of the most popular form of credit card fraud over the past few years, growing 87 percent since 2010 and recently resulting in $6 billion in losses nationwide, according to Integrated Family Community Services.

Tripp Girardeau is the crime and courts reporter with the Aiken Standard. Follow him on Twitter at @trippgirardeau.

Read more from the original source:

Police investigating recent reports of credit card cloning in Aiken ... - Aiken Standard