Base residents raise alarm about credit and debit card fraud on Okinawa

Many customers saw fraud charges sent to their accounts after making purchases at the exchange and other businesses at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa. (Pixabay)

KADENA AIR BASE, Okinawa – The 18th Wing warned its community to be wary of credit and debit card fraud following reports of unexplained fees billed to cardholders making purchases at Kadena businesses.

Shoppers at the air base are required to monitor their online accounts and report fraudulent activity to their bank or credit card companies, law enforcement and the FBI, according to a post on Kadena’s official Facebook page Thursday. Wing also recommends monitoring credit reports and signing up for identity theft protection.

Many customers who spoke to Stars and Stripes recently saw fraudulent charges sent to their accounts for amounts ranging from a few cents to thousands of dollars after making purchases at the Army and Air Force Exchange Service and other on-base businesses.

The issue may be part of a “widespread financial institution breach,” according to the wing’s Facebook post.

Three cardholders said via phone and email Friday that the fraud charges were paid to Amazon, Walmart, Afterpay and the California Department of Motor Vehicles.

Kaily Watson, 26, a paralegal and Air Force officer, said a $10 charge was made to her Chase Bank debit card “somewhere in Wisconsin” in July or August, but the bank caught it, replaced her card and refunded the money.

“This only seems to happen in Kadena,” he said. “I have not confirmed or seen anyone saying this incident occurred at (Marine Corps Camp) Foster, (Camp) Shields, or anywhere else.”

Marine Lance Corporal. Zenestina Perez, 20, said she and her husband, also a Marine, received five fraud charges totaling $300 on Navy Federal Credit Union debit cards around 8 p.m. Thursday evening after shopping at the Kadena commissary.

“We got our money back, but we are very disappointed and hesitant to use our cards,” he said.

The 18th Security Forces Squadron and the Air Force Office of Special Investigations determined that these cases “extended beyond Kadena Air Base,” 18th Wing spokeswoman Maj. Alli Stormer said in an emailed statement Friday. In his next message, he said that the first reports appeared in late October.

A check of radio frequency identification scanners and AAFES terminals on board Kadena, wing commander Brigadier General, revealed no “malicious activity.” Gen. Nicholas Evans told Stars and Stripes on Saturday during the Kadena Special Olympics.

Law enforcement and Air Force investigators compared the data with the FBI and other law enforcement agencies on Okinawa, Evans said.

“At least as much as we could – with our limited resources – say, ‘This is it; here;’ There is no gun that says. “This is the accusation,” he said. “It’s kind of common.”

AAFES spokesman Christopher Ward said in an emailed statement Saturday that the loss prevention department at AAFES “found no evidence of fraudulent activity specific to Exchange stores or services” after a “thorough review.”

Ward said the “standalone payment devices” used at retail concessions in Kadena were replaced between the end of last year and March, and AAFES began replacing retail, food and tablet pin pads in February.

He said the devices do not store customer information.

Evans said people shouldn’t be “more worried than they are any other time” about using their cards at Kadena. Everyone should always check their bank statements, work with their bank when they notice suspicious charges, and practice good cybersecurity.

“There are 50,000 soldiers and their families on Okinawa, and we’re talking about numbers in the 10s to 20s, that’s our initial estimate of how many cases there are islandwide right now,” he said.