Police in Wildwood Say Schnucks Debit, Credit Card Fraud Cases Increasing

As previously reported by Patch, authorities from jurisdictions around the St. Louis area are confirming reports in recent days that Schnucks may have had its credit card collection system compromised, making consumers vulnerable to identity theft.

Schnucks is reportedly aware of the possible issue and had outside agencies helping the chain investigate.

Thursday, St. Louis County Police in Wildwood tell Patch they've received as many as 15 reports of the possible fraud related to Wildwood. They've also received a few reports in Central County and South County.

As reported on Patch Wednesday via the Wildwood police log, nearly a dozen cases of fraudulent credit card use had been reported.

Earlier, this week a Wildwood police spokesperson told Patch they were getting a few calls from residents who said they knew of 30, and in another case 60, people who were affected by crime; however it could not be confirmed at that time that all of the incidences were in Wildwood. Wildwood officers thought on Tuesday that Missouri Attorney General office would start  investigating the situation.

Wildwood resident Becky Heiney also shared with Eureka-Wildwood Patch that she knows of at least 25 people affected by credit/debit card fraud over the past week or two. "Some are saying there is a problem within Schnucks' system. To my knowledge, there is no one place to compile just how many people across our region have been affected," she e-mailed.

Heiney shared a link to a Facebook page at which people can share their credit card-related stories; click here to see it.  

Also Thursday, St. Louis County Police posted this comment on a recent Patch article about the fraud cases. It encourages residents to contact police if they need to file a police report.

"If you would like to make a report with the St. Louis County Police here in Wildwood, I urge you to do so. Some banks/CC companies require, some do not. To make a report, please contact the 6th (Wildwood) Precinct and ask for Officer McDonald, I will be more than happy to assist you in this matter. If you do not want to make a report, I would ask that you send me an email detailing the following. Date the card was compromised, the city and state (or country) it was used in, the location it was used (i.e. Wal-Mart, the store/gas station, etc should have a number associated with it…this will help to identify the exact location if there is more than one in a specific city…”Wal-Mart #2094”). If you could provide the date that used the Schnucks in Wildwood (#121) that would be helpful as well. 

If you would like to make a report, please bring paper work showing the fraudulent charges and about 2 weeks, of prior charges on the specific card from you card statement. I am usually working for 2pm to 10pm m/f. Please contact me at the station 636-458-9194 for any further questions. My email address is jmcdonald@stlouisco.com."

This news comes after the St. Louis County Wildwood Precinct posted an alert on its Facebook page Wednesday stating the department has taken numerous reports for fraudulent use of a credit device. Police also warned, "You may have seen the news and learned there had been a recent epidemic of these reports throughout St. Louis County and its municipalities. We are asking that you be vigilant in checking your accounts for any unauthorized transactions."