ScamsOnline

Bank of America Screws Over Mom, Lets Identity Thief Continue to use Fake ID since “He Pays on Time!”

Margaret Harrison, a young wife and mother living in San Diego, found out a laborer named Pablo has been using her Social Security number. Bank of America sent her a new debit card bearing her name and Pablo's picture! Margaret says the Bank of America claims it can't take any action against Pablo because he pays his bills on time

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Stolen wallet leads to $412,000 bill

A stolen wallet left a Chicago student $412,000 in debt following an elaborate identity theft scam, The Chicago Tribune reports. Meghan Ross, 22, lost her wallet three years ago. Using Ross' identity, con artists secured home loans worth $412,300 on three Chicago buildings they didn't own. Ross has been sued by three lending companies seeking full repayment.

Ross met with several law enforcement agencies but got little help.

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Man Stole Identities From Indiana Sex Offender Registry

An Arkansas man faces felony charges after allegedly using Indiana's sex offender registry to scam about $20,000 from credit cards and federal tax refunds in the name of registered sex offenders. Matthew Buescher was arrested after a traffic stop by an Arkansas sheriff's deputy who found file folders containing financial information on several people.

Buescher apparently targeted Indiana sex offenders because their information was easy to get from the Internet. He told investigators he used the money to gamble in Oklahoma casinos.

Identity Theft

Many people think that identity theft is a crime committed by professional thieves who operate large scams. These same people think the only way to stop identity theft is to pass laws. (As if we didn't have enough laws already that are not being enforced today.)

In fact, most identity theft is local; committed by a friend, a relative or someone else as a one-on-one crime. Laws won't stop 99% of identity theft, the only defense is common sense.

Chris Pirillo of the GnomeReport discovered the real cause of one typical identity theft and wrote about it in the GnomeReport. You have to read this one! Click here.

A Warning to Heirs: Identity Thieves Target the Deceased

The following is an announcement from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC):

Criminals scour obituaries and other sources for personal information that can be used to commit fraud

Identity thieves will stop at nothing – not even the death of the intended victim – when it comes to stealing someone's personal information to commit fraud.

Crafty criminals look for personal details about the deceased in obituaries (in the newspaper or online), genealogy Web sites, death certificates and other sources. Armed with personal information – such as a full name, address and date of birth – an ID thief may be able to obtain a new Social Security card, a driver's license, or loans and credit cards, even though the victim is no longer alive.