Info From Credit, Debit Cards Used at Sanger Store Stolen

The debit and credit card information of more than 200 people in and around Sanger was stolen by hackers, police say.

Sanger police Detective Jonathon Perkins said the server of an out-of-state credit card processor for a Sanger grocery store was hacked, and the sensitive information was compromised.

"On July 20th, I was contacted by a credit union out of the Dallas area," Perkins said. "They informed me that several accounts had been compromised, and they found a common link to a merchant here in Sanger."

Police did not identify the grocery store, but said the store has since begun using a new transaction-processing company.

Perkins said credit and debit card numbers are usually sold to people who can create counterfeit cards. The counterfeit cards are then sold online.

"It appears they are mostly buying gift cards, and then they'll use the gift card to make a small purchase, and then they'll sell the balance for cash," Perkins said.

He said the hacker could be operating from anywhere in the country. Fraudulent purchases have popped up across the country and even in Mexico, Perkins said.