North Texas McDonald’s worker arrested for fraud with customers’ credit cards: cops
A 19-year-old McDonald’s employee in North Texas was arrested on Sunday after allegedly using customers’ credit cards to make unauthorized charges, police said.
Giovanni Primo Blount, of Poolville, faces a charge of fraudulent use or possession of identifying information, Springtown police said in a news release.
Blount processed legitimate customer payments, then used a personal device to tap the customers’ cards a second time, fraudulently double-charging an extra $10 to $20 per transaction, with the money sent to an account under his control, police said.
Investigators discovered that Blount used the device for more than 50 transactions at the restaurant, stealing almost $700, police said.
Residents who recently visited the Springtown McDonald’s and paid for their food using a debit or credit card are encouraged to review their bank and card statements for any unauthorized or suspicious charges, police said.
Police said some affected customers may have already received refunds.
Blount was released from jail Monday afternoon, Jan. 19, after he posted a $30,000 bond, police said.
Anyone who has been impacted by this incident is asked to contact Detective V. Thomas with the Springtown Police Department at 817-220-0828 or by email at vthomas@springtownpd.com.
“This incident serves as an important reminder that financial crimes can happen quickly and often go unnoticed without regular monitoring,” police said in the release.
Fraud protection tips
To help protect yourself from fraud, the Springtown Police Department recommends the following safety measures:
- Review bank and credit card statements frequently, including pending transactions.
- Set up transaction alerts through your bank or card issuer for real-time notifications.
- Report suspicious charges immediately to your financial institution.
- Avoid handing your card out of sight when possible.
- Use mobile wallets or contactless payments that tokenize card information and prevent any third party from having physical control of your card.
- Regularly change PINs and online banking passwords.
- Check credit reports periodically for unfamiliar activity.