Milton Woman's Credit Card Used 31 Times Fraudulently

A Milton woman reported to police on Feb. 8 that someone used her Visa Card fraudulently 31 times before she discovered the problem.

She first spotted a fraudulent transaction of $1,097.94 on her card on Jan. 20. That prompted her to contact her bank and review all of her transactions. She found an additional 30 fraudulent transactions, bringing the total to $2,868.86. Her bank advised her that all of the charges were completed in Florida.

The victim said she had been in Florida during November 2012 for the Thanksgiving holidays, and she believed her card number had been skimmed at that time.

Cumming Man Arrested After Hiding Laptop in Comforter

A Cumming man was arrested after a loss prevention officer at Walmart on Windward Parkway said she saw the suspect hide a $598 laptop and head out of the store without paying for it.

The Walmart employee said the suspect took the laptop and walk to the home goods department, where she said he hid it in a comforter set. Taking the comforter set to a self-checkout lane, she said the suspect paid for all items except for the laptop.

Michael Wayne Birchfield, 34, of Cumming, was arrested on Feb. 4 and charged with felony shoplifting. He was released from Fulton County Jail on Feb. 8 on $5,000 bond.

Filing Back Taxes with IRS, Woman Discovers Fraud

A Deerfield Point woman reported to Milton police on Feb. 20 that someone stole her identity to file tax returns.

The victim said she visited the IRS in DeKalb County to file back taxes from 2011. But an IRS representative said someone in Charlotte, NC, filed taxes using her identity already for 2011. She said she has never lived or worked in North Carolina.

The Milton officer advised her to contact all of her banks, the Social Security Administration and the three major credit unions to flag her identity for a fraud alert.

Identity Thief Opens Credit Card Account in Milton Woman's Name

A Sablegreen Way woman reported she was contacted by Walmart Discovery Card about a credit card that was issued in her name. She said $425.80 was charged to the card.

She also told Milton police on Feb. 9 that Target also contacted her about a credit card that was in the process of being opened in her name. She told the Target representative that she did not authorize anyone to open an account at the store, so the account authorization was stopped.

For questions about this blotter, email Bob Pepalis.