WENTZVILLE, Mo. — Wentzville police have a warning for people who visited the Wendy’s within the last week and went through the drive-thru.
They want you to check your bank account as there may be a fraudulent charge that appears right after Wendy’s charge.
Police said they have one suspect in custody, but believe there could be more victims.
Police said in the span of about a week, nearly a dozen people found fraudulent charges on their bank accounts after visiting the Wendy's off Wentzville Parkway on West Pearce Boulevard.
“So there were several customers that had, say, a $12 food charge or $14 and some change. But then just moments after they left Wendy's, they noticed a charge for $200,” Wentzville police Sgt. Jacob Schmidt said.
One woman, who wanted to remain anonymous to protect her identity, said the charge showed up an entire day after the Wendy’s charge for some it appeared just minutes after.
“I was going through the charges for October, and I asked them, 'What is this $200 charge?' It said something like, ‘Precious clot’ is what it came through as … it was one of those Square charges,” the victim said.
Square is a program often used by small businesses or independent sellers with the ability to swipe cards on a cell phone.
Police are still investigating how the suspect was charging people.
The victims found each other through a Facebook post, all of them sharing they had charges for the same amount under a similar name.
“For many it was their personal accounts and with the holidays coming people are like I don't know what I’m going to do. Like one person said this overdrew their account. So that was concerning," the victim said. "I feel sorry for people because guess who suffered from this?" she asked.
"All of us victims suffered," the victim said. "We had to take time out of our day to deal with it. We had to call the banks. We had to get new debit cards ordered."
Police said these scams can happen anywhere and it's important right now to keep an eye on what’s coming out of your bank account.
“So I would say maybe don't use the card that's linked to where your income source is, a lot of times a debit card will be where someone accepts their paycheck into their account. So maybe use a credit card because sometimes that offers a little bit more protection,” Schmidt said.
The victim said the Wendy's manager she spoke with said the restaurant chain does not condone this but there was not much it could do on its end because it did not directly go through Wendy's systems.
5 On Your Side reached out to Wendy's for comment but have not heard back yet.
If this happened to you, then Wentzville police want you to call them at 636-639-2126 and bring in a copy of the bank statement or send a screenshot of the fraudulent charge.