Florida has a very high rate of identity theft. The terms that define such white collar crime are rather broad and include incidents of suspected Internet fraud, illicit use of another person’s credit card or using someone’s personal information to create false accounts. Being accused of these types of crimes is clearly a serious matter. A recent incident occurred involving two women and allegedly cloned credit cards at Sam’s Club.
The two women were arrested on a recent Thursday after being charged for using reportedly stolen identities to clone credit cards and go on a spending spree at the wholesale store. Both women, one age 40, the other, 34, were supposedly found in possession of at least 42 credit cards suspected to have been cloned with stolen information. Between the purchases they are believed to have made Sam’s Club and those made at another store, the two are said to have racked up $17,000 in purchases on the cards.
Apparently, loss prevention employees at Sam’s reported their suspicions about the purchases made at their store to police, asking them to conduct an investigation into the matter. Police officers have stated that they believe the personal information was garnered by using a skimming device at a local Exxon gasoline pump. Each woman is being held in jail on $250,000 bonds.
However, just because an investigation has led to an arrest does not necessarily mean that those charged will be convicted in court. An experienced criminal lawyer may be able to obtain a positive outcome on behalf of an individual facing these circumstances. Seeking guidance from a Florida legal advocate is typically crucial toward developing as strong a defense as possible when facing white collar crime charges in the state.
Source: ABC 33/40, “Hoover PD: 2 Florida women racked up nearly $17,000 on cloned credit cards at Sam’s Club“, Dec. 19, 2015
