SPD: At least 30 fraud victims

SATSUMA, Ala. (WALA) - Natasha Riche was booked into Metro Jail just before midnight Tuesday, March 12. She's being held on $9,000 bond.

Riche has three charges of credit card fraud, but police said there are many more victims.

"We had estimated at least a dozen or so victims in this case, now we're up to possibly 30," Satsuma Police Chief Chris Mclean said.

Deborah Bowling said when she checked her bank statement recently, she noticed she had been over-billed for a carry-out meal last month.

"I checked my account, and I seen it was $108.46, and I knew it should have been 8.46," Bowling said.

Police said Riche pocketed the extra $100. There were other overcharges ranging from $40 to $150.

Investigators said it was the outrageous tips that drew attention to the crime. Mclean said, however, if the amounts had been smaller, it might have gone unnoticed.

"We have been going through all the receipts at the Waffle House. We looking for the most obvious ones, and we've actually contacted some victims ourselves," Mclean said.

There was no answer at Riche's home in Satsuma this morning, and someone pulling out of the driveway didn't have much to say.

"I don't know any Riche," the man said.

We did talk to customers who said they'll be watching their bank statements carefully in the future.

"That's hard to stop. That's hard to stop. You have to really be on top of your account to catch that," Dale Naramore said.

Police Chief Mclean agrees the best way to protect yourself is to keep a close eye on your bank and credit card statements.

Police said some of the people they've contacted so far didn't even realize they were victims.  

The chief said the crimes go back to December 2012.