Computer hackers apparently infiltrated a local retailer's data and stole the debit and credit card information of at least 150 Anchorage residents, possibly hundreds more, according to Anchorage police.

Though about 150 victims have been confirmed, police estimate the number of local victims could range as high as 1,000 or more in what looks to be an organized nationwide scheme to steal account information and use it to buy thousands of dollars in goods to be sold for cash, just in time for the holidays.

"There's a reason why they do this at this particular time: because of all the transactions, it's easy in all the noise to hide and to be less likely to be caught and be able to use the stolen goods longer, for larger amounts," said APD cyber crimes Detective Glen Klinkhart.

Reports of card fraud began trickling in about a month ago and soon began to snowball, according to police. The victims didn't seem connected to each other, so police had to painstakingly go through their financial records to narrow down the source of the breach, which investigators say was at least one local business.

Police would not release the name of the business, saying the retailer, too, is a victim in the case. The proprietor has been cooperative, and police said they were concerned releasing the name of the business could jeopardize the investigation.

"We're confident that we're able to figure out how it happened, where it happened and why it happened, and we've secured the credit card system that's in place," Klinkhart said. "At this point, we're confident that there are going to be no more breaches."

The number of new reports took off -- police said there were 10 or more a day at one point -- until about two weeks ago. They have now dropped off and police say they haven't gotten any recent reports of new card numbers stolen.

Now, the more difficult task of figuring out who is to blame lies ahead. Police say they are working with "national authorities" to do just that.

Police have been investigating reports coming out of multiple retailers, including that a skimming device -- which sends credit card information to a third party -- had been installed on one chain store's gas pumps, but they were not able to find any evidence that was the source, Klinkhart said.

And while investigators have not ruled out a skimming device, the breach appears to be inside the computer system itself, he said.

The involved business has cooperated with the investigation and neither it nor its employees are suspected, Klinkhart said. Police have begun forensically examining computers to determine when and how the breach happened -- a time-consuming task that must be done while allowing the business to continue operating, he said.

Investigators don't think the business was specifically targeted and haven't ruled out that others could have been affected.

"We're also very concerned about potentially other companies that maybe have a similar network," Klinkhart said.

The breach appears to have been the work of an organized, widespread group rather than a local operation, he said.

"You're getting a lot of them, and what we were seeing was that potentially these cards were being used somewhere on the East Coast by someone within 24-48 hours," Klinkhart said. "Well, that's pretty quick turnaround time. That really got our attention. So we think that this is potentially a national case, that there may be more to it."

Police say consumers should check their bank and credit accounts often and report unexpected charges to the bank or issuing business. Businesses should also be vigilant with their data, which could include routine checkups of their security, especially when employees leave.