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Cash and cards seized during the arrest of two identity theft suspects in Baldwin County on Wednesday.
(Mike Cason/mcason@al.com)
Jake Frith, special agent with the Alabama Attorney General's office, talks about an investigation that led to arrests in a debit card skimming scheme.
A man and a woman from the Orlando, Fla., area were arrested in Baldwin County on Wednesday in connection with a multi-state debit card skimming scheme, Attorney General Luther Strange announced today.
Authorities have already identified about 120 victims and expect to learn about more.
Strange was joined by representatives of the Baldwin County Sheriff's office and the Ozark Police Department at a news conference at his Montgomery office.
The arrests came after Ozark police called the attorney general's office last week seeking help with about eight identity theft cases that had happened over two days.
Investigators traced five of the thefts to an Ozark gas station where a skimming device wrapped in electrical tape was bundled with wires inside a gas pump.
Authorities identified the suspects after one of the victim's debit cards was traced to an unauthorized purchase in Bristol, Va.
A license plate captured on a surveillance video was linked to a car rented by one of the suspects, who were tracked to Texas.
Officers with the Baldwin County Sheriff's office arrested the suspects on Interstate 10 when they returned to Alabama on their way to Orlando, Jake Frith, special agent for the attorney general's office, said.
Authorities seized $6,490 in cash, 39 stolen debit card numbers with PINs and 315 gift cards with an undetermined amount of personal information.
Reiner Perez Rives, 34, and Eunises Llorca Menses, 30, are being held in the Baldwin County jail, according to the AG's office.
Frith said they face charges of trafficking in stolen identities, identity theft and illegal possession of a credit card.
Investigators have determined that stolen card information was used in Athens, Clanton, Falkville, Huntsville, Madison, Montgomery and Prattville in Alabama, as well as cities in Florida, Tennessee and Virginia.
Strange said identity theft crime is probably the leading theft issue that law enforcement faces nationwide. He urged people to limit their use of debit cards because of the risk.
"Once a criminal gets your debit card and your pin number, which these skimming machines can do, then they have access to your checking amount and it's a much more significant problem than a stolen credit card," Strange said.