Former fast-food worker accused of stealing card information

YAKIMA, Wash. -- A former employee of a Yakima fast-food restaurant and her boyfriend have been arrested on charges they used debit card numbers stolen from customers to make cloned cards.

The duo were arrested Tuesday by Yakima County sheriff's detectives, who said the suspects used the cloned cards to buy computers and DVDs. Among the victims was a sheriff's detective.

The scheme fell apart quickly, and a spokesman for the sheriff's office cautioned the hardware used in the case -- including a device known as a skimmer -- have been around for years.

"I can't recall an instance here, but this is not new technology," said Stew Graham, Chief of Detectives with the sheriff's office.

According to arrest affidavits, the case began last month when the sheriff's office began taking numerous reports of debit-card fraud. Victims complained their cards were being misused even though they had their cards the entire time.

Someone had used one victim's card to buy a Toshiba laptop for $636 at the Ellensburg Fred Meyer store on June 17. Another victim's card was used at the same day and place to purchase to purchase DVDs and a Samsung Galaxy tablet for $595.

Other purchases using other cloned cards had been made at the Yakima Fred Meyer store as well as Borders and the O'Reilly car parts store in Ellensburg. A total estimated loss was not readily available Wednesday.

A comparison of bank records soon revealed the victims had a common link: They had all recently visited the Panda Express in Yakima.

Armed with that key piece of information, and using surveillance video from Fred Meyer and Borders, detectives quickly identified a recently fired Panda Express employee and her boyfriend as the prime suspects.

On Tuesday, detectives served a search warrant at the boyfriend's home on South 29th Avenue. They reported finding blank magnetic stripe cards, a credit card machine and two small credit-card swiping devices as well as numerous brand-new and unwrapped DVDs and the Toshiba laptop.

Also on Tuesday, they raided the Avalanche Drive home of the female suspect and reported the seizure of receipts and the box to the Samsung tablet.

The female suspect, who turns 19 later this month, was booked on possible charges of forgery and identity theft. She has since been released on her own recognizance.

Her boyfriend, who is 24, remained in custody as of Wednesday in lieu of $1,000 bail.

The Yakima Herald-Republic generally does not identify suspects until they have been charged.

Graham said the fraud was perpetuated not so much by the hardware allegedly used by the suspects but by lax security measures at the point of sale.

He noted that many self-serve checkout lines don't require the use of PINs, that signatures are not always required and that clerks don't always check signatures when they are required.

Quoting legendary con man Frank Abagnale, whose life was recounted in the 2002 movie "Catch Me If You Can," Graham said, "Everything that's done as a convenience for the consumer is an opportunity for fraud."

* Chris Bristol can be reached at 509-577-7748 or cbristol@yakimaherald.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ChrisJBristol.