The credit card machine at Domenic's Café in the Lemberg Academic Center in the International Business School is currently under investigation after multiple students reported encountering credit card fraud there, according to Director of Public Safety Ed Callahan.Senior Vice President for Administration Mark Collins sent out a campuswide e-mail Oct. 11 stating that eight students had encountered credit card fraud at Domenic's and that Public Safety was investigating the reports. However, as of Oct. 18, approximately 35 students had reported credit card fraud after eating at Domenic's, Collins wrote in an e-mail to the Justice.

"The Credit Card machine has been removed from the Cafe site and is in the hands of investigators," Collins wrote in an e-mail to the Justice.

Domenic's is currently only performing cash transactions, according to Callahan, who did not know if WhoCash is being accepted as well.

Emily Diamond '12, one of the students who noticed strange credit card charges on her statement after using her card at Domenic's, explained that she last used her card on Oct. 12 and has since been informed that charges of $332.46 appeared on her statement. Diamond explained that she received a phone call from her bank, Metcalf Bank, located in Kansas, warning her of these suspicious charges on the card. Her account has since been frozen, and Metcalf is sending her a new card.

Diamond is in the process of reporting this fraud to Public Safety but was unable to file an official report because she did not have all of the necessary documentation. Diamond said that Public Safety requested that she print out her official bank statement and bring in her actual credit card in order to file the report. Diamond plans on filing the report later this week.

Diamond said she was glad the University sent out an e-mail warning students about the credit card fraud situation but explained that her bank was in charge of fixing the charges on her bank statement, not Brandeis.

Collins expects that Domenic's will not be able to operate credit card transactions for another 4 weeks. "When and if future credit card purchases are allowed at this site there must be a safe, secure and definitive transaction plan in place by the Independent vendor in charge of this service location," Collins wrote in his e-mail to the Justice.

Collins wrote that the investigation is still ongoing at this point. He explained that IBS has otherwise been operating normally and that he expects it to continue to do so.

"This is one cash register machine run by an outside vendor. . It had no other impact on the operation of the business school," Collins wrote.


-Alana Abramson, Brian Fromm and Nashrah Rahman contributed reporting.