Authorities relate cases of credit fraud

Authorities relate cases of credit card fraud as they recently caught a woman installing a skimming device at an ATM.

Julia Barnum, 32, had been tried for several other attempts and illegally using the credit cards of people involved in business and even charity work. She has a record of installing skimming devices at ATMs and cash registers to steal information from numerous credit and debit cards.

According to Judge Allen Fairland, Barnum made use of cheap skimming devices and the way she planned her illegal activity had been flawed this time around. Due to Barnum`s crime, the store manager at her workplace asked the police to investigate whether there are similar skimming devices installed at her cash register. The manager later found out that Barnum's coworkers tried to cover-up her crimes and were then fired as accomplices.

Barnum`s has 43 charges against her, 37 of which she pleaded guilty. The Priority Prolific Offender Program is tasked to supervise Barnum in prison. After serving time, Barnum will also be on probation for a two-year period. Authorities said that along with Barnum, another man pleaded guilty after stealing information from a credit card. He was Barnum`s "fellow" with whom she has long drafted plans with.

Mark Buchner steals information from credit and debit cards used for paying for items in a store. Similarly, skimmer devices were installed at the cash registers. More than 70 victims reported to authorities that the information on their cards was stolen. Same with Barnum, Buchner will also serve several years in prison.

In the past, Buchner served a three-year jail sentence as he was found guilty of theft. Now, he is faced with 40 years in prison for stealing credit card information, tampering with records of sale, and other similar charges.

Connecticut authorities also linked Buchner and Barnum to Harold Greeter. This is a previous case in the state where Greeter admitted to stealing information from of his father`s credit card. Greeter said that he connected with Buchner and Barnum in their attempt to steal personal information from several victims.

Greeter was charged for making fraudulent claims in check accounts. He told the police that he wrote more than $ 1,000 worth of check using his father`s closed account. Greeter got an eight-year sentence and was ordered by the court to pay $11,000 to his victims.

With these individuals having been related to each other in one way or another, authorities are looking at more possibilities of fraudsters operating individually after learning their "techniques" from groups.

Bryant Park

Bryant Park is a financial consultant for one of the companies listed on Wall Street. He writes on a variety of topics ranging from credit cards to different loans that can be availed by consumers. He holds a bachelor degree in Financial Services from Dartmouth College.