Deputies: Ohio fraudsters tried to buy bulk lottery tickets with stolen credit cards
STANTON, Mich. (WOOD) — Police are investigating credit card fraud in Montcalm County.
The fraudsters have stopped by multiple convenience stores over the last two weeks to buy thousands of dollars’ worth of scratch-off lottery tickets using stolen credit cards and credit card numbers, according to the Montcalm County Sheriff’s Office and Michigan State Police.
Most of those transactions were declined, the sheriff’s office said, but some went through, including an $8,000 transaction.
Deputies believe there are two groups running the fraud in Montcalm County. Detectives on Tuesday identified three people from Ohio who are believed to be involved, the sheriff’s office said. It said evidence has been confiscated for analyzation.
The groups have been targeting smaller convenience stores, often near closing time, the sheriff’s office said.
Police say cashiers should ask for a driver’s license or state ID from anyone trying to make a large credit card purchase, and to only accept physical credit cards, not numbers that need to be manually entered.
Deputies are investigating with the MSP Fraud Investigative Unit. Any store that has experienced this fraud should contact the sheriff’s office at 989.831.7590 or the MSP Lakeview Post at 989.352.8444.
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