St. Paul police sergeant receives award for helping bust stolen cellphone ring
St. Paul Police Sgt. Charles Anderson is slated to received the Law Enforcement Retail Partnership Award at the National Retail Federation's annual convention in Long Beach, Calif. The award is to be presented Thursday evening. Anderson collaborated with co-winner Michael Olson, a senior Secret Service special agent, to stop a Twin Cities crime ring that ran 13 mobile phone stores as fronts for the group's criminal activities. More than 300 local, state and federal law enforcement agents contributed to the investigation, which began in 2006 and led to the indictment of 20 people for moving stolen goods across state lines. twincities.com

Third person charged in Calgary credit card skimming operation
Melanie Brazeau, 28, was charged with possession of property over $5,000 in suspected proceeds of crime. She is expected to appear in court on July 29. Last week, police charged Denys Ranyuk, 32, and Dimitri Barbu, 33, with a total of 39 charges including mischief to property, mischief to data, possessing an instrument of forgery, and other fraud-related offences. Police launched an investigation after receiving reports that credit card skimming devices were being installed on gas pumps throughout the city. Investigators identified 38 stations but cautioned there may be more in the city that were affected. On June 17, police executed search warrants at a home in the 400 block of Mahogany Terrace S.E. and another in the 100 block of Silverado Boulevard S.W. Officers uncovered a credit card and identification counterfeiting lab, which included hand tools and paint to create overlays, pinpad keys, cash, a track-two data reader and encoder. calgaryherald.com

Pair jailed in Johnson Co, KS as part of large identity theft probe; arrested after bogus Best Buy purchase  A man and woman from New York City are in the Johnson County Jail awaiting charges in a complex identity theft case. A man and woman from New York City are in the Johnson County Jail awaiting charges in a complex identity theft case. Police said the pair, whose names have not been released, were caught in the act at a Best Buy store in Overland Park. "They were trying to purchase cellphones and the plan using the victims' information, credit card information and even identification that was made up and their own picture that shows them as the victims," said Officer Gary Mason, of the Overland Park Police Department. Store loss prevention notified police because they think the man and woman had struck at another Best Buy store earlier, police said. Investigators said they were able to determine that some of the victims are from Rhode Island, but they're still tracking the location of others. Mason said cases like this keep fraud detectives busy. kmbc.com

Credit card fraud ring growing in Maine, New Hampshire  Police are searching for at least four people suspected of being part of a growing credit card fraud ring. The CBS 13 On Your Side I-Team has confirmed there are victims of this alleged scheme to steal your money in both Maine and New Hampshire. Police say the suspects are using stolen credit and debit card numbers and then making counterfeit cards attached to real accounts. They're then accused of using the cards at grocery and drug stores to make some quick and expensive purchases. Surveillance pictures how what police say are credit card fraud suspects in action. Pictures and video show two women checking out at a Shaw's in Dover, New Hampshire, leaving the store, and driving away. wgme.com

$14,000 Shopping Spree Lands 4 in Jail
Four South Florida men are in hot water after Sarasota County Sheriff's deputies say their recent shopping sprees at the Mall at University Town Center drew attention from security officers. It seems two of the men were seen making numerous purchases with several different credit cards one day last week. Sarasota detectives began poking into the purchases, an email from the agency stated, and discovered that Capital One Bank had deemed the transactions fraudulent. On Tuesday, June 23, the men returned to the mall with two others along with them. Detectives watched as the four split up to shop separately and used various credit cards to make purchases. It was in the parking lot that deputies approached the men and conducted a search of their wallets and vehicle. That search turned up 23 credit cards that did have the men's names embossed on the front, but account numbers that didn't match the encoded financial institution information on the back strip. All told, deputies estimate the men purchased more than $14,000 worth of gift cards and items during their two-day spree. patch.com

Couple charged with Scheels theft
Two people from a Minneapolis theft ring have been charged after Scheels reported thefts in April to the Mankato Department of Public Safety. The theft was of numerous pieces of exercise equipment and watch-related items. Their value was determined to be $4,019.79, the said the criminal complaint filed in Blue Earth County District Court. mankatofreepress.com