Surrey RCMP investigate $350,000 Credit Card Cloaning Operation
Surrey RCMP's Economic Crime Unit has charged a Surrey man and Delta woman accused of defrauding credit card companies of nearly $350,000.Dean Gallo, 32, of Surrey and Hannah Denman, 26, of Delta, are charged with fraud over $5,000 and possession of credit card data. Gallo has also been charged with possession of a firearm, and possession of a firearm while prohibited. Gallo remains in custody but Denman has been released on bail.The investigation started on April 8 after a bank reported to police that one of their customer's credit card accounts was compromised. Surrey RCMP's ECU on April 20 searched two residences, one in the 12500-block of97th Avenue in Whalley and the other in the 13900-block of 74th Avenue in Newton, as well as a rented mail box. They seized $20,000 in property including a $10,000 bicycle, several computers, furniture and rare coins. Cpl. Scotty Schumann said the computers had hundreds of credit card profiles on them. Also seized were 250 stolen credit cards, 450 pieces of mail stolen from Surrey, Richmond and New Westminster, and a loaded shotgun. thenownewspaper.com

Woman stole more than $50k in PayPal gift cards
Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters is crediting the quick action of Walgreens employees and police with the apprehension of a California woman stealing more than $50,000 in PayPal gift cards with fraudulent debit cards. Allison Spadafore, 30, faces more than 30 years in prison if found guilty of a 66-count indictment announced Monday that includes 45 counts of identity fraud, 15 counts of criminal tools, two counts of money laundering and two counts of misuse of a credit card. She is accused of going to the Walgreens in Evendale June 10 and trying to buy some PayPal gift cards with a fraudulent debit card. The Walgreens clerk noticed some discrepancies and alerted her store manager. Spadafore ran from the store, but the Walgreen employees got her license plate number and alerted police. Spadafore drove to the Walgreens in neighboring Blue Ash but, before she could enter the store, Blue Ash police apprehended her. Evendale police launched an investigation and said Spadafore had stolen identity information in her possession or under her control belonging to about 40 different people. fox19.com

Ex-Best Buy employee accused of stealing $20K worth of phones, iPads from Atlanta store  A former employee of Best Buy admitted to authorities that he stole more than $20,000 worth of items while on the job, according to Alpharetta police. "It appears he would steal from the store, take the cell phone item to his vehicle and just leave it until he got off work," Officer George Gordon told Channel 2 Action News. Juan Fernando Orozco, of Roswell, was charged with theft by taking, Fulton County jail records showed. Store management became suspicious of Orozco, who was under surveillance much like customers in the store, Gordon said. "He admitted to the theft, but more shockingly, he came completely clean at that point, and stated he'd been stealing a number of cell phones for about a 90-day period," Gordon said. Investigators believe Orozco sold the phone and iPads on Craigslist. securityinfowatch.com

Police bust retail theft ring operating in NWI and Illinois
Six people have been charged in a retail theft ring uncovered by a Hobart police detective, police said.
Hilario Torres, 40, Nicolas Crider, 20, and Eugene Havill, 39, all of East Chicago; Quinn Robinson, 40, and Marquis Martin, 38, both of Gary; and Adrian Newman, 18, of Hammond, are accused of stealing thousands of dollars in merchandise between April and June from stores in Northwest Indiana and Illinois, Hobart police said. "The case began to unravel when Detective (Nicholas) Wardip was initially assigned a theft case from a retailer, located in Hobart," Gonzales said. Wardrip matched surveillance images in that case with images from other thefts in Hobart. An informant was developed through an assisting agency, and the six defendants were identified as suspects, Gonzales said. The theft ring mainly targeted electronics and handbags and operated as a group, Gonzales said. nwitimes.com

2 women arrested in retail fraud case
Two Texas women were arrested Wednesday on charges of fraud after Boise Police Department discovered 424 counterfeit and fraudulently purchased credit and gift cards. This is the largest number of counterfeit credit cards recovered in a retail fraud case, according to BPD. Police began looking into the incident Tuesday when retail store employees notified them of "red flags," according to BPD. The suspects were arrested at the Boise Airport around 1 p.m. Wednesday, and police believe they had been in the Treasure Valley with the scheme since Monday. Upon their arrest police found the suspects with a package of items prepared to be mailed out of state, police said. idahostatesman.com

Police Asking For Help Identifying WV Mall Theft Suspects
Police are asking for the public's assistance in identifying four women they said stole thousands of dollars worth of merchandise from a store in the Huntington Mall and maced a manager while fleeing. The Barboursville Police Department said it happened about 8 p.m. Monday at Buckle. Police said the four women walked into the store, grabbed about $5,000 worth of jeans and fled. Police said a manager chased them and one of the women maced him in the eyes. Police believe the women might be from the Charleston area. wchstv.com