Chad Abraham reports from Aspen:
The credit card numbers of at least 12 people in Snowmass Village have been used fraudulently in purchases, or attempted buys, at stores across the nation.
Art Smythe, the town’s police chief, said the victims still have their cards, but the culprits were somehow able to get the numbers. Most people told police that their bank was able to prevent the transaction, he said.
“They’re just getting notified that an unauthorized charge has been attempted,” Smythe said.
He said police are unsure how the thieves were able to get the information, and officers are trying to coordinate with bank officials in the investigation.
Read more on Aspen Daily News Online.
This is not the first time I’ve heard Snowmass’s name. It also came up in a 2010 breach report involving Destination Hotels and Resorts. Subsequent information indicated that that breach was much bigger than had been reported in the media and may have occurred much earlier, at least at one of their 22 properties.
Although the new report probably isn’t linked to the earlier breach reports and the fraudulent charges may have some other common point of compromise, I sent the hotel an inquiry as to whether there is any evidence that they have had another breach or whether the card numbers involved are old enough to have been involved in the breach they disclosed last year. Snowmass Village did not respond to an inquiry sent to them by publication time, but if I get a response, I will update this post.