Arrests made in debit card fraud case

30.03.2006
The U.S. Secret Service Wednesday confirmed that it has made several arrests in connection with a recent wave of debit card fraud that forced several banks and credit unions to reissue millions of cards over the past few months.

The arrests were part of a broader undercover Secret Service investigation known as "Operation Rolling Stone" that has so far resulted in the arrests of 21 people on charges related to online identity theft as well as credit and debit card fraud.

[View more Data Security Breaches coverage] Seven of those arrests occurred yesterday in Florida, New York, Illinois, Pennsylvania, California and Washington, according to Secret Service spokesman Jonathan Cherry.

'Previous arrests occurred in a number of locations nationwide, with one arrest in the United Kingdom,' he said.

According to Cherry, some of the 21 people arrested so far are linked to the recent debit card fraud wave, but he did not say how many.

'Rolling Stone is an active operation and in its initial stages [is] targeted at online criminal enterprises that threaten our financial infrastructure,' Cherry said.