Computer hackers obtained information belonging to an Anchorage, Alaska, retailer that pertained to between 150 and 1,000 credit card users, police said.



Police said credit card fraud on the part of what appears to be an organized national scheme started trickling in about a month ago and rapidly grew during the holiday shopping season, the Anchorage Daily News reported Wednesday.  "There's a reason why they do this at this particular time: Because of all the transactions, it's easy in all the noise to hide and to be less likely to be caught and be able to use the stolen goods longer, for larger amounts," Anchorage police department cyber crimes Detective Glen Klinkhart said.



Police declined to release the name of the business because the retailer is also a victim. The retailer has cooperated with the investigation, and police fear that divulging the name of the business might jeopardize their investigation. "We're confident that we're able to figure out how it happened, where it happened and why it happened, and we've secured the credit card system that's in place. At this point, we're confident that there are going to be no more breaches," Klinkhart said.

Police said they are working with national authorities to discover the culprits.