Though the number of area residents reporting fraudulent credit card charges from the shuttered EVG Quality Gas station on Baldwin Avenue is beginning to taper off, Sierra Madre Police say they are still receiving reports at a rate of about three to five per day.

As of Thursday, Jan. 20, the total number of victims to file claims with the department had risen to 497, Sierra Madre Police Chief Marilyn Diaz told Sierra Madre Patch. The scam is now believed to be the largest ever to hit Sierra Madre.

“The numbers have increased because we’ve had a continual flow of people coming in with reports,” Diaz said Thursday.

The total dollar amount lost in the credit and debit card “skimming” scam has now reached $172,437, a number that continues to grow each day as new reports are filed.

Complaints are coming in at a slower pace than in the weeks following the initial announcement by police that residents should check their bank statements and report suspicious charges.

“Our lobby was flooded with people submitting reports during those first two weeks,” Desk Officer Hasmick Hartunian said Sunday afternoon. “Things have definitely slowed down now.” Nevertheless, Hartunian said the crime was the largest and most far-reaching to hit Sierra Madre that she knew of.

Almost immediately following that statement, another Sierra Madre resident came into the police station to submit a report of a more than $200 charge from EVG posted to his account on Dec. 28, 2010.

The SMPD did not readily have available statistics detailing the number of Arcadia residents who have reported seeing fraudulent charges on their bank statements due to the EVG scam.

Last week, the SMPD turned over control of the property on which the abandoned EVG station sits to property owner George Attar. The release of the property follows a completed investigation of the premises by Sierra Madre Police and the U. S. Secret Service, who joined the investigation earlier this month. The County Department of Weights and Measures gave Attar 30 days to either remove all hazardous materials from the premises or resume the sale of gasoline.

Police have released a photo of a man they believe to be tied to the fraudulent charges and are seeking two other men as well. No arrests have yet been made in the case.