14 News, The Tri-State's News and Weather Leader-Hackers breach Warrick Co. bank accounts

Hackers breach Warrick Co. bank accounts

By Nicole DiDonato - bio | email
Posted by Noah Stubbs - email

WARRICK CO., IN (WFIE) - Cyber thieves have recently hacked their way into dozens of online bank accounts in Warrick County.

Investigators said that it happened to customers of People's Saving and Trust Bank in Boonville.

The breach is not being done inside the bank itself, but rather to the company that services their customer's debit cards.

It's been happening since the first of the month.

The bank has narrowed it down to 38 accounts, and victims have been coming forward all week.

Kevin Morris, a People's Saving and Trust Bank member, regularly checks his debit card's online activity.

Morris logged onto his bank's website on Thursday.

"Within 30 seconds im like, wait a minute, that doesn't look familiar," Morris said.

According to Morris, the last 17 transcastions, totaling over $1,400, weren't his.

"I've just been victimized," Morris said.

The Warrick County Sheriff's office said that cyber thieves hacked into the server that provides debit cards for customers of People's Savings and Trust Bank.

The numbers, or reproduced cards, have been used all over the country.

Morris said the illegal transactions started in Chicago.

"They must have been sick, went to Walgreens, got a few things, went and filled up their gas tank and a Shell station. Then, they were in Nevada, got a couple hotel rooms," Morris said.

Authorities said victims have been filing reports with police and the sheriff's office all week.

Steve Bennett, the bank's chief operating officer, said they're on top of the situation.

"We requested a copy of the list," Bennett said. "We took the stance to contact the remaining customers by phone and encouraged them to shut down their debit accounts immediately."

No transactions were made in Warrick County, so law enforcement can't do much in terms of arrests.

They said these crimes are generally hard to solve.

"Its very difficult," Warrick County Sherriff Chief Deputy Brett Kruse said. "A lot of it is international. Its very hard to track."

Morris does everything he can to protect himself from fraud, but has learned one thing from this situation.

"My bank cares about me and im thankful for that," Morris said.

People's Savings and Trust Bank will reimburse customers who've lost money in this fraud, but they must fill out a police report.

The best advice to protect yourself from online banking fraud is to check your account often don't wait till the monthly statement comes out.