That’s a substantial increase from Monday, when 75 people had reported that their bank accounts had been raided.

Investigators believe the customers’ card information was stolen at the Arco station at 11608 Meridian E. last August, but thieves waited to make withdrawals until the long July 4 holiday weekend, giving them an extra day to clean out the accounts.

“We don’t have an exact figure, but it would not surprise us if the losses were half a million or more,” sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said.

No tips have come in about the suspects, which leads detectives to believe they aren’t from the South Sound area. The San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News recently reported similar thefts from Arco stations in California. Unlike other retailers, those stations take only debit cards.

“We are working with other agencies up and down the West Coast to tie cases together,” Troyer said.

Ian Demsky, The News Tribune