In a matter of 12 days, a UCLA student stole $16,353 from Visa gift cards and transferred the money to credit his Bruin Card account.
The thefts took place between April 14-26 and are currently under investigation by university police.
“We know that the student used numbers from several gift credit cards, but we haven’t ascertained how the student got access to the credit card numbers,” said UCPD detective Harry Standberry.
Police, who would not identify the student, do not yet know how many gift card numbers were stolen, but the numbers do not appear to have been from anybody at UCLA.
Although no charges have been filed yet, the suspected student is cooperating with police. Police said they believe he acted alone.
Students should take precautions to protect themselves from becoming the victim of credit card theft, Standberry said.
“The best way to prevent (identity theft) is to actively take an interest in your credit profile and check your credit regularly,” said Luis De Vivero, UCPD crime prevention officer.
“Also, shred any documents with personal information and don’t answer e-mail solicitations that ask for personal or account information.”