If you were to check Kevin Reed’s debit card statement earlier this month, it looked as though he was enjoying a little shopping spree in Florida. The Daniel Island resident appeared to be racking up more than a thousand dollars in charges in the Sunshine State at a variety of retail outlets, including Wal-Mart, Foot Locker and Radio Shack. The only problem was, Reed wasn’t anywhere near Florida at the time. He was home on Daniel Island with his family. His bank alerted him that someone had compromised his business debit card and was making unauthorized charges on his account.

"It was crazy," said Reed, who runs his own construction contracting company. "I said (to the bank), ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’"

The bank representative asked Reed if he had recently booked any airline flights or hotels, to which he responded "no." The account was immediately frozen, the money was put back into Reed’s account within 48 hours and he was issued new cards. But two days later, his personal accounts, managed by another bank, were also compromised. This time it was a credit card and a debit card.

"Neither card had left my wallet," he said. "So it was kind of weird… I’m 44 years old and I’ve never had any fraudulent charges or anything like that!"

Again, the cards were cancelled. Other Daniel Island residents were experiencing similar problems around the same time period. Molly May, who lives in Center Park, got a call earlier this month that someone in California had used her husband’s debit card at a Target and a Safeway, with charges totaling over $400. Her husband’s card was still in his possession here.

"It prompted us to do a credit check and run the gamut to find out if our identities had been compromised," said May.

Jo Cooper, who lives just around the corner from May, got an email alert a couple of weeks ago from her bank about some suspicious purchases made in Wisconsin using her debit card account.

"I was amazed they caught it and it was very painless to me," explained Cooper. "All I had to do was shred my card and wait for a new one to arrive."

Island resident Melissa McCorkle discovered that unauthorized charges to her debit card account were made in Maryland and Georgia at around the same time.

"We looked at the bank statement and saw that over $1000 had been taken," said McCorkle. "The purchases were made at Sears, Macy’s, and Super 8 Motels…"

"My bank contacted me around the third or fourth of May and said ‘did you authorize a purchase at Ikea in New Jersey for $400?’" added Codner’s Ferry Park resident Caroline Smith, yet another debit and credit card fraud victim on the island. "…She asked if both cards were in my possession, and I said yes."

The suspect(s) attempted two other large purchases on Smith’s account, but fortunately they did not go through. Smith has since received a tentative credit and new cards.

Center Park resident Karen Szlosek’s case is a bit more far-reaching. Someone tried to use her credit card account in Malaysia for a purchase worth several thousand dollars.

"The company was very prompt about informing us that there was suspicious activity," said Szlosek.

Once the credit card case was resolved, Szlosek got hit again - this time with her debit card account. An unknown person tapped into her account for a $240 purchase at a Wal-Mart in Rock Hill, S.C. on May 14.

"The whole thing is incredibly frustrating," added Szlosek. "…I am still waiting to see if we are liable for the charges…The woman on the phone from the fraud department (at my bank) said that it has gotten really bad lately with desperate people out there doing anything they can for some money."

It was both a debit card and a credit card for Smythe Park resident Tanya Murphy, who said both accounts were shut down within a week of each other. Her debit card was used in California, but the charges did not go through. According to Murphy, the credit card account was tapped for purchases both locally and in Spain.

A mysterious $222 purchase at a Wal-Mart store in Fort Worth, Texas, hit Bob Schilling’s debit card account on April 19. He and his wife, Ronda, are careful not to ever use their card for any online or kiosk transactions, said Schilling.

"We’ve never had this happen before," he explained. "…Luckily, the transaction was denied so no money was taken from my account…My guess is that an island business has had their database compromised. Just seems too coincidental that this many people in a small area were hit with fraud in a one to two week timeframe."

Is there a common thread in these and other cases involving Daniel Island residents? So far, The Daniel Island News has learned of about a dozen victims in the community, including those listed above. But according to Lt. Christine Middleton, commanding officer for Daniel Island-based Team 5, only a couple of cases have been reported to police.

"It’s important for people to notify the police so we can investigate the incidents to see whether or not we have a developing problem," she said. "Otherwise, we have no way of knowing….For the incidents that we do have on hand, there is no correlation whatsoever."

In each of the cases outlined here, the cards remained in the possession of their owners, leading victims to believe the suspects created new cards using their account numbers. In a practice known as "skimming," account information is literally downloaded off the magnetic strip on the card and onto a device attached to a credit card swipe machine at a gas station pump, restaurant, retail outlet, or at an or ATM machine.

"Card swipe information can be obtained several ways, including small swipe devices in an apron or pocket, (or) skimmers attached to the front of an ATM," said Sgt. Trevor Shelor, crime prevention officer for the City of Charleston Police Department. "…The info is then recorded, downloaded onto a computer and transmitted to someone else, usually in another state, and used to produce counterfeit cards."

Recently, "skimming" attracted national attention when it was determined that more than 80 Michaels Arts and Crafts stores in 20 states had been the victim of "PIN pad tampering" (South Carolina was not listed as one of the affected states).

When asked if there might be a possible skimmer device in use on Daniel Island, both Sgt. Shelor and Lt. Middleton said it’s hard to determine that information without more data.

"The majority (of victims) just work through their banks and don’t discuss it with their neighbors," Shelor explained. "Not that there isn’t a common thread – sometimes there is, like a skimmer on a particular ATM or a criminally connected cashier, but every person probably had several avenues their information could have been taken."

"There is nothing to indicate there is a problem at any one particular establishment (on Daniel Island) or any potential suspects to indicate that we have fraudulent activity occurring or devices that are being used to retrieve banking information or credit card information."

For now, police are urging residents to take a few extra safety precautions when it comes to using your debit and credit cards. First, make an effort to make sure you do not allow your card to leave your sight.

"If going to a restaurant where the waitress takes your card, plan ahead and take cash or you should still be allowed to just got to the register (to pay)," said Shelor. "(Also), be wary of buying anything online with a debit card. Credit cards usually have more legal protections against fraudulent use, and a person using a debit card can clean you out instantly, causing all of your legitimate transactions to bounce."

Report all possible fraudulent activity or scams to police, added Shelor. He also suggested residents contact the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-IDTHEFT or online at www.FTC.gov. Identity theft information is also available on the Charleston Police Department website at www.charleston-pd.org under "crime prevention."