ST. GEORGE — A man is in jail facing financial card charges after allegedly purchasing thousands in merchandise using cards he took from a coworker.

On Tuesday afternoon, officers responded to a store on Bluff Street in St. George after receiving a report that multiple credit cards had been taken from the purse of one of the store employees, according to the probable cause statement filed in support of the arrest.

Police say the employee said at the time of the incident, her purse was stored in one of the offices of the business, and later when she realized the cards were gone, she checked her bank account and discovered multiple transactions that had been made without her knowledge or consent.

The report also states that a review of the complainant’s bank records revealed that more than $2,200 was debited from the account through a series of purchases that were made at a number of local retailers.

Through the course of the investigation, officers obtained video footage that they say assisted in identifying the suspect responsible for the theft, 45-year-old Gerardo Rodriguez, who relocated to the area from Las Vegas and was recently hired to work for the same grocery chain.

Officers also learned Rodriguez had been assigned to work at the store off Mall Drive in St. George, where he had been working for the last week and was scheduled to work there that same day, which is where he was found, asked to step outside and then taken into custody by police.

During a search of Rodriguez prior to transport, police say they recovered multiple financial cards inside his wallet belonging to the complainant, along with a pipe and a bindle of suspected methamphetamine, a substance the suspect later told police he had addiction issues with.

Officers also found gift cards that were later found to be allegedly purchased using the stolen bank cards.

While speaking to police, Rodriquez said he had purchased the bank cards for $100 from a coworker who he said told him “he could use them whenever,” the officer noted.

Authorities say Rodriguez also admitted to using the cards to make purchases at several big-box retailers to pay for tools, gift cards food and other smaller items – statements that were consistent with the transactions listed on the complainant’s bank records.

During a search of the hotel room the suspect was staying in, officers recovered multiple sets of tools, an air mattress, food and numerous other items, but police never recovered one of the bank cards that was reported as stolen.

Rodriguez was arrested and transported to Purgatory Correctional Facility and booked into jail facing five third-degree felony charges, including three counts of unlawful acquisition of a financial card, one count of unlawful use of a financial card and one count of theft. He also faces misdemeanor drug and paraphernalia charges.

Following the Tuesday arrest, Rodriguez remains in custody on $5,000 bail.

Tis the season for financial card fraud  

During the holiday season, consumers not only make a greater number of purchases than they do during the rest of the year, but they also tend to be more distracted, studies have shown. This combination can be risky for holiday shoppers when it comes to financial card and identity theft.

The number of identity theft reports doubled between 2019 and 2020 and continues to grow. In fact, last year, more than 1.7 million credit card owners were impacted, according to a report released by the Federal Trade Commission.

Nearly 400 million reports of credit card fraud were processed by the FTC during that year alone – making 2021 one of the most prolific years on record for this type of crime, the FTC says.

The losses are staggering.

Last year, consumers lost more than $5.8 billion to credit card theft and fraud, and the highest number of reports came from individuals aged 30-39, and according to Consumer Affairs, the most targeted groups include children and seniors and members of the military.

To avoid becoming a victim to fraudsters, it is important to watch out for potential scams while shopping at a store or online, since the holidays provide the perfect opportunity for scammers to separate consumers from their money.

One venue that attracts thieves involves online shopping, which has been on a steady rise over the past several years. While most retailers provide safe and convenient systems for making purchases online, it is important to look out for potential scams, particularly during the holidays, which is when fraudsters often take advantage of consumers’ desire to get bargains, and if it looks too good to be true, it most likely is.

Before entering any payment information make sure the retailer’s website has a “lock” symbol in the URL, indicating the webpage is encrypted and your information is protected from criminals. Also, sites that use “https” at the beginning of the URL tend to be safe and secure.

Another way criminals can get bank information is through credit card skimmers, a device that copies the account holder’s card information that can be replicated to make new cards. Avoid using any card reader that appears as if someone has tampered with it.

It also is easy for someone to write down credit card information while completing a transaction – so be weary if the card is not returned immediately after the purchase.

Thieves also target homes and vehicles to break into to find cards or other valuables, so keeping these items out of the car and securing the home and the vehicle make these locations less attractive to criminals.

This report is based on statements from court records, police or other responders and may not contain the full scope of findings. Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

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