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Police Target Sierra Madre Gas Station In Fraud Probe

SIERRA MADRE (CBS) — Sierra Madre police on Tuesday were investigating more than 175 cases of credit fraud representing about $49,000 losses linked to a local gas station.

EVG Quality Gas at 50 S. Baldwin Ave. was the common thread in each case, police said.

 

On Dec. 27, a woman told police she that someone stole her credit identity after she used a credit card at the station. Within a week, police got another 175 reports of fraud linked to the business, police said.

The largest single loss was $3,782, police said.

Three-quarters of the crimes involved a single fraudulent transaction for an amount less than $200, police said.

Most of the multiple-transaction cases involved ATM and retail transactions, police said.

Detectives have served a search warrant at an undisclosed location in connection with the crimes and were questioning people, police said.

EVG Gas is now closed. Police urged people who used credit or debit cards at the station to check their accounts dating back to June and to notify police of any suspicious activity.

(©2010 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)

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