This is a little far afield for us, but we feel it's worth mentioning: The Sierra Madre police are investigating cases of fraud involving debit and credit card transactions at EVR Gas, 50 S. Baldwin Ave. in Sierra Madre. People who have used their cards to make a purchase at the station are finding that their cards are racking up multiple fraudulent charges, most under $200, but at least one of $3,780.

Our youngest children go to Sierra Madre Elementary, and we have lots of friends there, and many of them were victims of the scam (one of our friends had about 20 transactions charged against their account on Dec. 31 alone).  Pasadena Star News says that 230 people have reported fraudulent transactions so far. Police are asking customers of the gas station to check their accounts as far back as last June, and report suspicious activity to the police.