Police: Most card-skimming cases in Hernando County simply ‘sleep spending’

By Frank Fencil | frank.fencil@springhillcourier.com

BROOKSVILLE — If you’ve been hit by card skimmers, you might want to make it a point to stop sleeping in the nude.

After a lengthy investigation, Hernando County authorities said they have found nearly all of the credit card-skimming cases reported in the last year have been cases of sleep spending.

“Going through all the gas station and Walmart surveillance videos, it was pretty clear these cards were being used by the folks who owned them,” sheriff’s office spokesman Tony Castroto said. “They were just in a sort of fugue state or sleepwalking. And that someone would go to a gas station or a Walmart at 3 a.m. in their pajamas and buy a bunch of strange items simply doesn’t raise anyone’s eyebrows around here.”

The sheriff’s office has issued more than 120 warrants for people who filed cases but have been found to have been sleep spending with their own cards.