No fraud reports yet after breach of grocer

Police in Cape Girardeau have received no reports of fraud cases as a result of a security breach involving Schnucks customers' credit and debit cards, a spokesman said.

Darin Hickey, public information officer for the Cape Girardeau Police Department, said the department's financial crimes detective knew of no one who had reported a fraud case as a result of the breach.

The number of fraud and forgery cases reported to Cape Girardeau police in recent months actually was down from the same period a year earlier, Hickey said.

Police took 23 forgery reports and 30 reports of fraudulent use of a credit or debit device from Dec. 1 to March 30, he said.

That's down from 39 forgery reports and 31 reports of fraudulent use of a credit or debit device from Dec. 1, 2011, to March 30, 2012, Hickey said.

He said the number of reports could change as news of the Schnucks breach spreads.

"A lot of times, as soon as people hear about something as a possibility ... they start going back, looking at their account," Hickey said.

Vigilance is the key to preventing and reducing the impact of fraud, he said.

"When somebody gets a credit-card number, the first thing they're going to try to do is spend $1 or $2" to confirm the number is valid, Hickey said. "If you see these things, these strange charges on your card, that's definitely something to look at."

Local banks took precautionary measures after learning about the breach.

Kevin Greaser, president of Alliance Bank, said he had received no reports of fraudulent activity, but the bank issued new debit cards to about 10 percent of its customers as a pre-emptive measure.

"We are very, very proactive," he said.

The Bank of Missouri took similar steps, issuing new cards for potentially affected accounts and fielding phone calls from concerned customers, said Kristen Klaus, vice president of marketing for the bank.

"If they're calling and they are concerned, we are just going ahead and reissuing them a new card, free of charge," Klaus said. "You're not going to tell somebody, ‘Well, let's just wait and see what happens.'"

She said a few customers had disputed charges on their cards, but it was not clear whether the charges were related to the breach of the grocery chain.

First Missouri State Bank had not seen any compromised accounts as a result of the security breach, said Sandy Boston, senior vice president of operations. She advised people to monitor their accounts closely and call their bank if they notice any unfamiliar activity.

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

19 S. Kingshighway, Cape Girardeau, MO