Credit card fraud ring busted in Benton

BENTON, AR - Four people wanted for forgery charges across the state and possibly across the country have been caught thanks to the Benton and Bryant police.

A federal alert had been put out for local authorities to be on the lookout for four people from Michigan, wanted for using counterfeit credit cards. Finally, the group was arrested at the Benton Wal-Mart.

The suspected counterfeit credit card ring consisted of Alfred Horn, Ramone Cherry, and two women. All four are wanted on similar charges out of Jonesboro, the two women are already in jail there, their names are not being released.

Ramone Cherry and Alfred Horn are in the Saline County Jail until authorities take them back to Jonesboro.

The Secret Service actually believes the suspects were on a road trip that started in Michigan. They worked their way south until they got caught here in Arkansas. The secret service says the 4 hit hotels and stores and investigators are backtracking to see if they were involved in other cases.

The Secret Service says that credit card fraud, like the one this group was perpetrating, could happen to anyone. When you pay your bill with your credit card, someone can run your card through a little device called a skimmer. The skimmer collects your card’s information which the crook can then transfer to a “dummy card,” in effect making a copy of your credit card.

"It's common enough that we have repetitive business so to speak. The technology is out there,” says Brian Marr with the US Secret Service.

To prevent yourself from being a victim of this type of fraud, it is imperative to get your credit report every year and pay close attention to your monthly statements.