as dave statter reports, the secret service says an electronic skimmer was used to steal those numbers for about a year. >> reporter: it was bank investigators that noticed the problem. tracing a number of the fraud complaints back to the cheesecake factory. the service numbers put in by the waiters help the secret service narrow it down to two employees at the restaurant. before long, a theft ring involving the two waiters and a former worker was cracked. >> this, for instance, is $20 or so on ebay. >> reporter: the skimmer is the key to this and many other similar credit card fraud operations. it reads and stores the numbers by swiping the card out of sight of the customer, and it can then create a clone of the card. >> they have now stolen all the information on your credit card. >> i just said to both of them, i don't know if i want to eat here, because i don't want to get that there. >> it could happen anywhere, yes. >> i think twice about handing my credit cards. most of the time. >> reporter: what happenedded here at the cheesecake factory has happened at -- what happened here a