Car break-in at beach access leads to more than $1,000 in fraudulent credit card charges

Myrtle Beach police are investigating after a man reported that his car was broken into and a thief charged more than $1,000 to the victim’s credit cards, which were taken during the break-in, authorities said.

Officers were informed of the incident when a 35-year-old man came to the Myrtle Beach Police Station and reported the incident about 5:30 p.m. Thursday, according to the police report.

The victim told officers he parked his car about 1:45 p.m. Thursday at a beach access at 48th Avenue North. He said when he returned about 2:45 p.m., his wallet and cellphone were missing from the car’s center console, authorities said.

The victim told police he locked the car doors, but his windows were rolled down a little. He said when he went home and called to cancel his credit cards, he discovered that fraudulent charges had already been made, police said.

The victim said he was told one card was used at a Kangaroo gas station on 10th Avenue North and that $47.49 had been charged.

The victim also told police the same card was used at Wal-Mart for $400 and $300 was charged to the card at Best Buy, authorities said.

The victim said his bank card was used at Lowe’s on Seaboard Street and that $612.37 had been charged.

Police had not made arrests in connection with the incident as of Saturday morning.

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This story was originally published May 2, 2015 at 12:06 PM with the headline "Car break-in at beach access leads to more than $1,000 in fraudulent credit card charges."