Ex- Southwest Ranches Restaurant Waiter Accused of Credit Card Skimming
A former waiter at a Southwest Ranches restaurant is accused of stealing the credit card numbers of more than two dozen customers, reports CBS 4.
According to the Broward Sheriff's Office, Cristobal Chavez, 29, stole the credit card numbers by copying them with a device called a skimmer while working at the Romeus Cuban Restaurant. Investigators believe Chavez copied the numbers over a several month span.
"We believe he was selling the numbers," Broward Sheriff's Sgt. Jay Leiner told CBS 4's Carey Codd.
Sgt. Leiner believes Chavez sold the credit card numbers to a group of identity thieves operating outside the state of Florida. The restaurant victims lost more than $20-thousand dollars but the credit card companies paid them back. Regardless, Sgt. Leiner said this crime -- called skimming -- is on the rise.