Credit Card Theft Ring Targets Plano Fire Chief
PLANO (CBSDFW.COM) - A credit card theft ring has claimed the Plano's fire chief as one of its victims.
When Chief Sam Greif's wife found $6,000 in fraudulent charges on their credit card, the couple immediately notified police. Thus police put surveillance on the chief's house and waited for one of his deliveries to show up. And when it did, they noticed a man steal the package before it made it to the house. He arrested a short time later.
Police spokesman David Tilley said package theft is common.
"The suspects will order something to the house. Then they will intercept the package by pretending to be the homeowner by saying something like 'I was about to leave' to the driver or 'can I just sign for it here.' The package never makes it to the house," said Tilley.
Greif was victimized before and thought the situation was behind him.
Tilley said the key to catching the thief was the chief notifying police immediately when he noticed the charges.
"All too often victims don't notice the charges until weeks after the crime, making it hard on police to track the culprits," he said.
The suspect has since bonded out of jail. Tilley said he may have committed other credit card theft crimes.