HONESDALE – The frequency of fraud happening in one particular area of Wayne County has authorities taking notice. Police in Honesdale are trying to see if there’s a common thread connecting a rash of credit card fraud.
Ginny Egan lives in downtown Honesdale and shops mostly wherever her scooter can take her. But just this week she saw her credit card was charged in North Carolina. Egan wasn’t alone.
"It's all over, this morning everybody I run into says they know somebody that got hit or they got hit themselves,” said Egan.
Egan says she was scammed, but only $1 was taken from her account before she caught it.
At the Trackside Grill on Main Street, owner Jeff Hiller’s account was hit a bit harder.
"$724. I was concerned about that, you know, you have no idea where they're from. There's no way of actually catching the people I guess. Some of this stuff can be done online," said Hiller.
Hiller’s credit card was charged four times in South Carolina before he realized he was hacked.
Phyliss Bishop’s account was flagged by Dime Bank when the scammer ran her card while she was shopping in Honesdale.
"That was here in town the other was in the state of Washington, so she said you can't be in two places at once,” said Bishop.
We did talk with several bank officials in Honesdale. They didn't want to comment officially on this scam but say they are aware of what's going on. They're encouraging any customers who notice anything suspicious on their accounts to give them a call.
We talked with victims with accounts at Honesdale National Bank, Wayne Bank and Dime Bank. All say their funds were returned, confident their cards are now safe.
"I hope so, I got trust in the Dime Bank, I guess,” said Bishop.
Police in Honesdale say they’re trying to find the common thread in the fraud cases. But for Egan, she’s taking extra steps to protect herself.
"I'm just going to bring my checkbook if I'm going to do a lot of shopping, or just take cash. I'm not going to use them anymore, it's too easy to get into them,” said Egan.
It’s definitely a warning to keep your eye on your bank accounts and credit cards tonight.
Honesdale police say victims can also get a fraud information packet at their headquarters. It will explain what agencies to contact if you have become a victim of a scam like this one.