Card fraud continues to impact county

SANDERS COUNTY – With the holiday season quickly approaching, shoppers may want to think twice before swiping their card for a transaction.

Throughout the county and much of the northwest, incidents of both debit and credit card fraud has increased greatly.

According to DeDe Steinebach, customer service manager of Rocky Mountain Bank in Plains, the incidents began occurring about three weeks ago. Although no specific numbers have been released, it’s apparent the incidents are widespread.

“We have not heard of any large place that has been hacked,” said Steinebach. “I know banks all around have been hit.”

Rocky Mountain Bank has been sending a letter in the mail to some of the people suspected of falling victim to fraud.

“Recently, you may have become aware of a security breach at a nationwide merchant resulting in the compromise of debit card numbers,” stated the letter. “This incident has left customers of many local financial institutions at a high risk for fraud.”

The letter then goes on to state the bank believes the customer’s card may have been included in the data comprise. The letter also states the data breach did not occur at Rocky Mountain Bank. 

However, recently a source has been potentially pinned to a Spokane-based wholesale grocery chain, URM Stores Inc.  

URM stores have been a common trend in many of these fraud cases. Although it is not proven whether the instances in Sanders County are related, it is a possibility. URM is a chain of wholesale grocery stores that include over 160 stores in the northwest. 

“We believe that the attack is targeting data found in the magnetic stripe on the back of credit and debit cards,” URM CEO Ray Sprinkle said. “This information is typically used to make counterfeit cards.”

Steinebach said people should be cautious and should continually check their accounts to make sure everything looks alright. 

“Be very aware and balance your checkbook,” advised Steinebach. “Make sure you are matching up those transaction and if (they aren’t matching up), let your bank know.”

Steinebach was unsure of how other banks were dealing with the process but she stated that Rocky Mountain Bank’s fraud system has caught a lot of suspicious transactions.

Customers are also being notified by phone if suspicious activity is found. 

“To further lessen the risk of fraud, we ask that you carefully monitor your account for unauthorized activity,” stated the letter.

**Coeur d’Alene reporter Keith Cousins contributed to this article.