Police explain identity theft scam

TYLER -  Authorities say after credit card information was collected at a local Chicken Express where one of the thieves worked. They also went online to get more information. Don Martin with the Tyler Police says the investigation evolved over time.

"We started looking at it as a credit card abuse than it turned into an identity theft investigation and it just kind of mushroomed. It wasn't five, ten, or fifteen people this turned into being thousands of people."
 

The thieves would then use that information to get gift cards. They choose to get cards out for small amounts of money like $20.

One man says he didn't find out until the bank notified him of the fraudulent charge.

"I noticed I had gotten a new debit card in the mail which I was not expecting that for a couple more years and I look inside why and they said that my security had been compromised as well as others."

By that time the thieves had moved on to other bank accounts . Another East Texan says the same thing happened to him.

"I went to Chicken Express a couple of times and within about a month or so later i got a new debit card in the mail saying that there had been a security breach and they gave me a new card and told me to get rid of my other one."