A Vallejo man is warning customers to check their statements after he said his identity was allegedly stolen by an employee at the Best Buy store in Vallejo.
Jessie Diaz said he purchased a cell phone from Best Buy Mobile Services on the morning of Dec. 4 using his Best Buy credit card.
When Diaz returned to the same store a week later, he said his credit card got declined at the checkout counter.
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“I was like, ‘How could it get declined?’” said Diaz. “It shouldn’t decline.”
Diaz said he has a weekly spending limit of $1,000 on his Best Buy credit card and knew he had not spent over $100 on the cell phone. He said he returned to the store on Dec. 13 to ask the assistant manager what was wrong with his account.
Diaz said the assistant manager handed him receipts showing three purchases of iPad Air tablets on Dec. 4. Two tablets were purchased in one transaction at 11:31 a.m. and the third was purchased five minutes later at 11:36 a.m. The transactions charged more than $1,600 to Diaz’s Best Buy credit card.
Diaz said the man who stole his identity is allegedly the employee who sold him the cell phone. He said he had given the employee his social security number and other personal information to purchase and activate his new phone. Diaz said the store’s general manager told him he is not alone.
“He informed me that I was not the only case, that there are several other cases pinning the same associate,” Diaz said of the alleged identity theft.
Herman Robinson with the Vallejo Police Department confirmed they are looking into the case.
“We have the name of the employee that was allegedly involved in this and at some point if Best Buy comes forward with additional information we may be able to put together a package for prosecution,” Robinson said.
KTVU’s Cristina Rendon reached out to Best Buy’s corporate office for comment. Best Buy Spokeswoman Carly Morris released the following statement to KTVU:
“We are working with local law enforcement. We cannot comment further, given that there is an ongoing investigation.”
Diaz warned others to check their statements to see if they are victims too. He said he does not want them left feeling betrayed like he was.
“I feel betrayed because I always put Best Buy at a very high level,” Diaz said. “I’m a Best Buy customer. I love the store, so when I go in there of course I’m going to trust them. I figure if I go there my information is safe and now that’s not the case.”
