Alert eyes and ears at a local Wal-Mart have led to the arrest of a New Orleans man for identity theft.

Quenten T. Hall, 22, 7515 Lacombe St., New Orleans, was arrested on May 2 and charged with access device fraud after he was spotted attempting to use cloned credit cards at the Wal-Mart store on Natchez Drive in Slidell.

Calling the crime “the largest case of identity theft in this area,” Slidell Police Chief Freddy Drennan noted the theft involved some fairly sophisticated technology.

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“We deal with credit card fraud and identity theft almost every day, but it is very frightening to see it at this level,” said Drennan. “It’s very important that everyone understands that this is going on.”

Events were set in motion when Wal-Mart was notified by a company which tracks identity thefts that a card used earlier in the day was possibly compromised.

The card was used to purchase at least one gift card for $200, and later it was discovered that seven cards, each for $200, had been purchased, with multiple cards used in the transaction.

Hall allegedly returned to the store later that same day and was observed by the store’s loss prevention officer using 10 separate cards to purchase a laptop computer. He was arrested by Slidell police upon leaving the store.

More than 40 credit cards were recovered at the time, embossed with Hall’s name and a bogus account number. The magnetic strips, however, were linked to actual accounts belonging to several individuals scattered across the country.

It was unknown as of press time the amount of fraud attributed to each card, but at the time of his arrest Hall had more than $10,000 worth of high-tech equipment in his vehicle.

According to Capt. Kevin Swann, head of Slidell’s criminal investigations division, the case will be handed over to the U.S. Attorney’s office for prosecution due to the number of victims in multiple jurisdictions. In addition, Hall was reportedly a “person of interest” in another case under investigation by the Secret Service Identity Task Force.

“This was excellent police work on the part of the Slidell officers,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge C. Darin Lake. “This individual had a history with the task force, and the officers’ work helps wrap it up nicely.”

Lake said the case indicated a growing trend in credit card cloning. The individual obtains either gift cards or actual credit cards, re-embosses them with his or her own name and encodes the magnetic strip on the back of the card with the stolen account information.

Lake added that in most cases, the imprinted number on the front will not match the number appearing on a purchase receipt.

Some retailers have made it a practice to check the last four digits on a card against the receipt.

“Unless the clerk is very alert, the fraud can go undetected,” said Lake.

Hall’s level of involvement in the manufacture of the bogus cards is unclear at this point. Both Drennan and Lake agree the stolen account numbers could have been obtained in any number of ways.

“It could be as simple as stealing receipts out of the trash, or as sophisticated as hacking a computer system,” said Drennan.

Lake said that while technology has made life easier for many citizens, it has also enabled thieves to gain quick access to personal information. Both men encourage consumers to check their statements regularly, stating that awareness is the best tool for stopping fraud.

Drennan, who said his wife was recently the victim of credit card fraud, voiced his concerns about the rapidly growing crime.

“Everyone in this room will be touched by identity theft at some point,” he said. “We all must take action to stop it.”

Hall was released from jail on May 7 after posting a $10,000 bond.

Any resident who believes he or she has been the victim of identity theft is encouraged to call their local police department or the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office.