Financial institutions already suffering from our weak economy have another worry on their plates: fraud. A scam targeting banks and credit unions could drain our accounts in days, if we're not vigilant.

"A little lighter in the wallet," says Daniel Matuszewski. He had an unwelcome surprise while checking his account balance at Illinois Community Credit Union in Sycamore. He noticed a series of unfamiliar charges that added up quickly.

"It was quite a schock because I mean 900 dollars is quite a bit of money just to be missing," says Matuszewski.

He fell victim to a fraud scheme catching on across the Stateline and the country.

"They're moving from state to state and they're going to different financial institutions and if you're not doing your homework then you have the potential of really getting stung bad on this one," says Bob Schroeder, President of Illinois Community Credit Union.

Law enforcement agencies are working with Visa International to trace the fraud. They believe the suspects are mass-producing credit and debit cards, then testing them at pay-at-the-pump gas stations, until they find one that matches an existing account.

To combat the problem, Illinois Community Credit Union eliminated pay at-the-pump privileges for card holders and temporarily barred signatures for debit cards. Customers have to use a pin instead.

But Schroeder says the most important tool is to constantly monitor transactions to check for suspicious activity. Illinois Community caught the trend early enough that just 30 of 5,000 card holders were impacted.

The credit union is repaying customers for all fraudulent charges, adding up to a $30,000 loss for the company.

Schroeder feels lucky it wasn't worse: "With earnings of financial institutions down it's gonna cause some problems."

...And to prevent problems of our own, customers need to track accounts carefully. "I'm gonna keep a closer look on balancing and things like that," says Matuszewski... And immediately report any unusual activity.

Investigators also believe the individuals committing the fraud may be people laid off from the financial sector, who know how the system works and no longer have a paycheck.

Schroeder says requiring businesses to ask for identification when customers pay with a card would cut down fraud.

He adds Illinois Community Credit Union is working with law enforcement to find the people behind the scheme. He says security cameras recently caught some suspects on tape in a Chicago suburb and he hopes for resolution soon.