By Steve Browne
Valley City Times-Record

A Valley City parent reported to police on Wednesday she found several hundred dollars worth of charges on her debit card, after someone accessed her card number online while her son was playing on his X-box.
Valley City Police Sgt. Doug Kiefert said it wasn't clear yet if the card data was accessed through the computer, or if the child was talked into giving the information.
X-box is a computer gaming system that can be connected to the Internet to allow many players at different locations around the world to play and chat with each other for a monthly fee, according to Jason Thiel, Barnes County Management of Information Systems (MIS) director.
Thiel said, “It's called a phishing scam. I'm guessing someone probably promised the kid he'd get some game really cheap and said, go get your mom's debit card.”
According to Assistant State's Attorney Lee Grossman, it's difficult to prosecute online scammers.
“We have to make sure we can find the person first. If he's in another state, law enforcement would have to request local authorities help find the person,” Grossman said.
If they succeed in finding the person, the state's attorney's office can either file charges locally or request the prosecutors in the offender's area to file charges there.  
“We want to caution parents about knowing what websites their children are on, and not giving out information. There are so many scams out there and they're getting so sneaky,” Kiefert said.
Kiefert suggested that anyone who uses a wireless connection should have their accounts password protected.