The Victim: Allen Rountree
The Crime: Debit card abuse
Date: Wednesday, May 23
Time: 1:16 p.m.
Location: 6200 block of Blackberry
The text was bad news.
Allen Rountree likes the security service his bank offers. He can set spending limits on his credit and debit cards, and when those limits are exceeded, he receives a text alert.
“My wife didn’t like it too much because it alerted me if she spent a lot,” he says. “But she likes it now after this happened.”
What happened was that someone accessed his debit card information and made several internet purchases for expensive electronics. The alert system, however, let him know about the issue within 14 minutes of the first purchase, and he was able to let his bank know and cancel the card. By the end of the day, all the funds had been returned to his account.
Dallas Police Lt. Richard Dwyer of the North Central Patrol Division says many banks and financial institutions offer some type of alert or security program for their customers, which can be very helpful.
“This offense was committed online, which usually means that his card number was stolen when it was used by the owner on a previous occasion without him being aware it was done,” Dwyer says.
The bank was the owner’s first line of defense against credit card abuse.
“Other times, people will get their wallet and credit cards stolen out of their vehicle and initiate the call to their bank. In this day and age when so many people buy items online or do their banking online, it is imperative that they understand the banks’/finacial institutions’ security measures that are offered and use them for their accounts.”
Unfortunately there is no such thing as the cyber police, Dwyer says, where a suspicious transaction can be investigated like a patrolman could investigate a suspicious car. This responsibility is left to the financial institutions and customers to protect accounts.
| crime numbers |
2
Number of police-involved shootings that occurred in one night May 29 — one at the Jack in the Box at Frankford and the Dallas North Tollway and another at Valley View Park; both suspects have been arrested and charged.
6
Number of thefts or attempted thefts that occurred at Sears over a two-week period
$5400
Estimated value of perfumes stolen from the Ulta cosmetics store in Prestonwood Town Center during a burglary June 6
Source: Dallas Police Department
