Credit, debit card fraud on the upswing at Tampa restaurants

TAMPA He paid a $20 tab at La Teresita Cuban restaurant with a credit card.

A few days later, Fredy Villalobos was notified by his bank that an additional $1,006 had been charged on his card.

From Spain.

After the shock ebbed, Villalobos realized his account number had been stolen and used in a country he has never visited.

"I've been using credit cards since 1981, and this is the first time this has happened to me," said Villalobos, 49. "I was worried."

Over the past few months, credit and debit card fraud has risen at Tampa restaurants, authorities said. Villalobos may be one of dozens of victims whose account information was stolen after dining at local restaurants.

"We are investigating a data breach at several Bay area restaurants," Tampa police spokeswoman Andrea Davis said. "We're trying to determine how the information is being compromised."

Police have fielded a handful of reports, but suspect there are more incidents because fraud victims typically settle the matter with their banks, Davis said. Detectives are looking into how widespread the problem is, she said.

There appears to be a pattern.

Villalobos, and other victims who have called The Tampa Tribune and News Channel 8, said they paid for meals with credit or debit cards at Tampa restaurants in mid- to late January and discovered fraudulent charges soon after.

Villalobos said he was at La Teresita, 3248 W. Columbus Drive, on Jan. 14 and was called by his bank Jan. 23. Heather Peterika paid for an $11 lunch at the same restaurant Jan. 28. When she checked her bank account later, she said she saw a $288 charge from a store in Spain.

Stuart Hart, a strength and conditioning coach at St. Leo University, said he ate dinner at La Teresita about 11 p.m. Jan. 28 and used his bank card for the $20.76 meal. He checked his financial statements recently and said he noticed $483 in charges from Walmart stores and gas stations in Texas.

Jack Rudowsky said he and six other friends dined at Shells Seafood, 202 S. Dale Mabry Highway, on Jan. 23. Six people used their credit cards to pay, and one settled her check with cash, he said.

The next day, Rudowsky and his friends who used cards at the restaurant, were called by their banks.

"They told me I had a $200 and $130 charge in New Jersey," said Rudowsky, 80. "I told them, 'No, I can't be in two places at once. I'm in Tampa."

Davis, the police spokeswoman, said Shells is working with her agency to find out how customers' account information was taken.

A co-owner of La Teresita said no employee at the restaurant was responsible for taking account information.

"Unfortunately, our restaurant, along with others, was victim to a virus that attacked our computer system, getting past all the security measures," Chery Capdevila said in a statement.

"We hired the experts and they eliminated the virus and secured our system. We would like the public to know that we apologize for what has happened, but it was not done internally."

Police said they are aware a computer virus targeted some local restaurants and copied account numbers. Detectives are investigating who created and sent out the program.

Kevin Jackson, chief investigator with the Hillsborough County Consumer Protection Agency, said credit card fraud has become more common over the past three years.

Thieves have been known to hack into computer systems, steal online banking information or use devices known as "skimmers," small boxes attached to ATMs or gas pumps that record account numbers when cards are swiped.

Employees could be the culprits when the crime occurs in restaurants, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're the ones making the fraudulent charges, Jackson said. In some cases, employees are paid by criminal groups to take account numbers and give the information to them.

"They could be in the Ukraine, making charges from there," Jackson said.

Tony Sasso, a security expert with Fifth Third Bank, said experienced thieves don't purchase extravagant items with stolen accounts.

"Don't just look for big money ticket items, a $100- or $200-dollar type of transactions," he said. "Look for small ones. Fraudsters will hit up multiple people with small transactions, which may be small to you and I, but when you are hitting up 100, 200 accounts a day, it could add up very, very quickly."

Villalobos, Rudowsky and others said they didn't have to pay for the fraudulent charges because they, or their banks, caught the suspicious activity in time. But Villalobos said he feels like a victim and had to go through the inconvenience of canceling his card and waiting a week to get a new one.

"It's the aggravation, more than anything," he said.

The incident has made him change his spending habits.

"If you go to a restaurant and the bill is less than $30, pay cash," Villalobos said. "You have to protect yourself."