Credit Card Scam Busted In Laurel

BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- A credit card scam busted. Police in Prince George's County say they've stopped a waiter who repeatedly stole from his customers. He was caught at the T.G.I. Friday's in Laurel.

Kai Jackson explains how some alert customers helped stop the scam.

It can happen in a flash. This YouTube video shows how easy it is for a waiter to steal your credit card information with a skimmer.

And police say that's exactly what Brian Adams did when he worked as a waiter at the Laurel T.G.I. Friday's.

"The more you see it on tv and the news reports, you gotta wonder," said a restaurant patron. "Not everybody is honest anymore."

Adams allegedly skimmed 73 cards, sold the information and rang up $42,000 in bogus charges. But police say he made a big mistake when he cloned the cards of two Secret Service agents. The agents noticed the extra charges, compared notes, and that sparked the investigation.

"Bad choice, but lucky for everybody else that it was stopped," another restaurant patron said.

Prince George's County State's Attorney Angela Alsobrooks said we can't all be agents, but you need to stay aware.

"To regularly check your bank statements, to be sure to check your credit report and to be ever so careful how you use your credit card," she said.

The restaurant fired Adams as soon as the scam was uncovered.

More than nine million people have their credit card information stolen every year.