2-Year ID Theft Investigation Yields 86 Arrests; 25 More Sought

angry tapir writes with this bit from TechWorld: "Prosecutors call it the biggest identity theft bust in U.S. history. 111 bank tellers, retail workers, waiters and alleged criminals were charged with running a credit-card-stealing organization that stole more than $US13 million in less than a year-and-a-half. 'This is by far the largest — and certainly among the most sophisticated — identity theft/credit card fraud cases that law enforcement has come across,' the Queens County District Attorney's office said in a statement announcing the arrests."

Comments

Re:Identity "theft"

[Jason Levine]

My identity was stolen, so I have personal experience here. The thieves had my name, SSN, DOB, and address. They used it to open a credit card in my name. (Curiously, they had my mother's maiden name wrong yet Capital One still approved the online application.) They also requested rush delivery and changed the address on the card from my home to some other location. Unfortunately, for them, Capital One sent the card out BEFORE changing the address and it went to me. I was able to stop the fraud and lock down my credit, but I never found out who stole my personal info or how.

I was lucky. If the card had gone out how they hoped it had, they would have been able to activate it and run up a huge tab under my name. Then, when they didn't pay, the collection agencies would have come knocking down my door. My credit would have been ruined for years as I fixed the damage they did.

Yes, I would have had my credit but it would have been completely trashed.

To use a car analogy (since this *IS* Slashdot), identity theft is like "borrowing" someone's car at night and returning it with the windows smashed, two doors missing, dents all over, paint smeared all over the interior and three tires flat. Sure you have your car to use, but you aren't going to get much actual use out of it until you spend a lot of time and money restoring it. (And unlike the car analogy, you can't just ditch that car and get a new one.)

I'd say depriving someone of the credit that they earned by fraudulently gaining access via stolen personal information is "theft". This isn't a case of someone making a copy of your identity and it not affecting you. The results are real and can affect you for years to come.