Dozens of Valley Oak Credit Union debit card numbers taken by criminals

THREE RIVERS, Calif. (KFSN) -- Thieves went on a spending spree over the weekend using stolen debit card numbers from the South Valley.

At the Valley Oak Credit Union in Three Rivers, Monday was one of those days. Alan Cortum, the CEO, was on the phone with customers through most of it.

"Taking their reports, we're blocking cards, issuing new cards."

Eighty-four debit cards raised red flags over the weekend. Cortum said thieves cracked the card numbers and got away with fraudulent transactions on at least 18 cards.

"When they find one that works, they'll start manufacturing cards and go to town, see how much money they can get before any financial institution can get it shut down," said Cortum.

Each transaction, Cortum said, was about $400. And it all added up to a little over $7,000 by the time the cards were cut off. The credit union traced most of the purchases back to Mexico and some to Target stores. The victims were all notified and a message posted on the website. Still, many showed up at the Three Rivers branch to find out what happened. As well as the other two, in Visalia and Tulare.

This is a small credit union with roughly 7,000 members.

"It's becoming more and more common to go after the smaller guy because some of them don't have the fraud protection," said Cortum.

Fortunately, this one did but Cortum said anyone with a debit card should always pay close attention to their transaction history just in case.