By JEFF LIPTON
The suspect, Aziza Sattar of Beach Channel Drive in Far Rockaway, was employed at Duane Reade, 1338 Broadway, late last year when she allegedly used a skimming device to duplicate customers credit cards without their knowledge, according to detectives at the Crimes Against Property (CAP) Squad of the Nassau County Police Department.
A skimming device is an electronic box that scans the magnetic strip and security information from a credit card. The personal information can then be downloaded and used to make a duplicate card with that same information.
Sattar, who was working for the pharmacy for a few months, is accused of using the device to scan the cards of at least seven customers from Dec. 3 through Dec. 15, 2007, detectives said. The duplicate cards were then used to make dozens of purchases, amounting to a total of $8,146.47, at gas stations, Wal-Mart and other retail shops, said CAP Squad Detective Ronald Schepis. Some of the purchases amounted to a few hundred dollars at a time, he said.
Since the information has come out, we're still getting calls from people who believe they may have been victims, said Schepis. It's seven cases at this time, but it could be more.
The alleged scam was brought to the attention of investigators when unusual charges started popping up on the customers credit card bills. Investigators traced it back to Duane Reade and Sattar, who was the common denominator in all of this, said Schepis. The credit card company, in this case Citibank, said the customers will not be responsible for the unauthorized charges, detectives said.
Schepis said investigators are looking into the possibility that an accomplice or accomplices may have given Sattar the skimming device to use for them and then made the purchases themselves. But thus far Sattar is the only one who has been charged in the scam and she's not saying if others are involved, police said.
Detectives arrested Sattar in front of her home on Tuesday, March 18 at 9:50 p.m. and charged her with third-degree grand larceny, possession of a forged device, first-degree identity theft and six counts of second-degree identity theft, police said. She was arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead on March 19.
Schepis said police have yet to recover the skimming device.
In a statement following the arrest, the Duane Reade company said: The safety and privacy of our customers is a top priority at Duane Reade, and we are vigilant about protecting our consumers from fraudulent activity. We monitor all store purchases, immediately report irregular transactions and work proactively with banks, credit card companies and law enforcement to prevent fraud in all Duane Reade stores.
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