A 26-year-old West Allis man is facing serious charges after being accused of defrauding Educators Credit Union out of more than $53,000.
Between January and June 2022, Brandon Howard was the perpetrator of a check fraud scheme called card cracking, according to the criminal complaint filed Nov. 30 in Milwaukee County Circuit Court.
Card cracking is when fraudsters use social media ― Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or Snapchat ― to recruit people with existing or recently created financial accounts to give up their debit card and PIN or allow use of their accounts by the recruiter, according to the criminal complaint.
These account holders are primarily young adults and will frequently be convinced to also give up their mobile and/or online banking credentials (username and password). At this point, they are active participants in the fraud.