Credit Card Theft at Abington Post Office

Filed under: News by Contributor @ September 9, 2013

Rashaad Calif Schell, 23, of Philadelphia, left; and Daryl Matthews, 24, of Philadelphia, are charged with theft and related charges. Credit: Abington Police

Schell, left, and Matthews, right.
Image courtesy abington.patch.com

 

Citizens of Montgomery County who have used a credit card at the Abington post office recently beware…two former post office employees have been arrested and charged with theft and other offenses after allegedly stealing customers’ credit card numbers. Rashaad Calif Schell, 23, and Daryl Matthews, 24, both of Philadelphia, would place a smartphone on the counter with the video camera recording towards the ceiling, and as a customer would hand a credit card over to make a purchase, they would briefly hold the card over the camera, recording the information on it. Schell and Matthews would then use the numbers to buy items, mostly ranging in value between $1,000 to $2,000, and have them shipped to the cardholder’s home. Some items that were purchased were American Express gift cards and tickets to Six Flags Great Adventure. To retrieve the package, the men would then show up at the delivery address and pretend to be the homeowner. If the item was delivered before they could intercept it, they would pretend to be a UPS driver and tell the homeowner that the package was delivered by mistake in hope of taking possession of the items.

According to police, there may be as many as 20 additional victims. If you have used this post office recently, we urge you to check your bank statement to make sure that you are not one of these victims. As required by federal law, a cardholder has zero liability if his or her credit card number is stolen. If the physical card is lost or stolen, however, the cardholder will typically have a liability of up to $50 (but this is frequently waived). And in the worst case scenario, the police may actually think that you fraudulently filed a fraud claim, since the items would have been delivered to your house, potentially resulting in you being arrested as the perpetrator. In any event credit fraud is a massive headache, so we recommend keeping an eye on your surroundings for cameras, skimmers, or unusual activity any time you use a credit card.

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