Bend ID Theft Update: Victim Total Nears 200

Lindsay Holloway of Bend is now one of hundreds who noticed something odd on her bank statement this week.

“I just went online to check our account and I saw something I didn’t recognize,” Holloway said Wednesday. “So I called my husband right away to make sure it wasn’t him, and he said he didn’t recognize it, so I called the bank.”

A $69 charge on her credit card from Mexico — and a close call with another false charge.

“There was another one from New York that never posted. It was pending for like three days and then it went away,” said Holloway.

What started as a few random cases of identity theft has turned into an epidemic that’s now a top priority for Bend police and detectives.

“In my 20-plus years here, I don’t think I have ever seen, or at least I cant remember a case that had this many victims,” said Sgt. Greg Owens.

Deschutes County 911 dispatchers told us that on top of the 86 ID thefts reported over the past week, another 93 calls (and counting) came in Wednesday.

Many of the fraudulent charges reported in Bend were actually made out of state, or even out of the country.

Cracking the case won’t be easy, police said, because the card numbers are being used in different states, making the search that much harder.

“This is a hugely complicated case,” Owens said. “At this point, for the last three or four days, we’ve done nothing but essentially collecting information.”.

Those who haven’t become victims fear they could be next.

“It scares me very much,” said one Bend resident. “It really does. I’m just going to be very extra-cautious.”

With no leads, police say patience is a virtue.

“It’s not something that’s going to be solved in a day or two,” Owens said. “This is going to be a long-term case.”

Bend police are still asking victims to contact them, to collect more data and clues that could crack the case.