Identity Theft Warning

Over this past weekend, the Santa Cruz Police Department has seen an exponential increase in reported fraudulent credit card transactions. The Santa Cruz Police Department is currently investigating a number of identity theft cases in which unknown suspect(s) used victims VISA/MasterCard credit/debit cards to make purchases through the internet. Investigators are working to see if there are local ties to the cause of the increase in identity theft cases or if they are related to the resent Global Payments breach, in which more than 1.5 million financial records were breached.

The Santa Cruz Police Department recommends that you monitor your bank/credit accounts for fraudulent activity. If fraudulent activity is discovered and you are a City of Santa Cruz resident, please use our online reporting system at santacruzpolice.com to file a police report. If you are not a City of Santa Cruz resident, please contact your local law enforcement agency to file a report. Additionally, contact your bank to report the fraudulent activity and request a new credit/debit card and/or account number.

Please have the following information available in order to make a thorough report:

Victim Name
Victim Address
Victim Telephone Number
Victim Account Number
Victim Bank Account Number
Victim Card Account Number
Fraudulent Charge(s) Date/Time – Exact as according to their statements.
Notations or comments in the charges field of their statements

To Leave ANONYMOUS information regarding this incident, please call our TIP LINE at (831) 420-5995.