Anchorage police ask cardholders to check statements in tap-to-pay fraud case

Anchorage police are asking cardholders to check four stretches of their bank and credit card statements for charges they did not make.

The dates are March 31 to April 10, May 17 to 18, June 22 to 26, and July 9 to 11.

The Anchorage Police Department said Saturday it is investigating a fraud ring that used stolen credit and debit card information at several unrelated retailers. "This investigation involves fraudulent tap to pay purchases made over the past few months," the department said in a public alert.

Anyone who finds a matching charge is asked to call the non-emergency line at 3-1-1 or file a report online. More victims could help identify who is responsible and turn up additional transactions, police said.

Federal law caps a credit cardholder's liability at $50 for unauthorized charges. Debit card protection depends on how fast the loss is reported, and it weakens sharply after the first two business days and again after 60 days. For charges dating to July, that 60-day mark falls in September.

Credit unions call the underlying method ghost tapping: completing contactless transactions with stolen card data, mobile wallets or portable readers, often in amounts small enough to go unnoticed on a statement.

The alert does not name suspects, say how many people were affected, or give a dollar total.