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

Identity "theft"

[Elbereth]

It's not theft, if you still have the ability to use the identity. I just made a copy.

What, why are so mad at me?

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.

Re:This is thanks to Bush's failed policies.

[tech4]

It's not stealing, it's just making a copy. The original person still has his/her identity left.

improves my opinion of banks

[bcrowell]

This significantly improves my opinion of banks. I knew that they were full of the kind of people who would hold the economy hostage and demand a bailout from the federal government because they were too big to fail. I knew they were full of the kind of people who would robo-sign documents fraudulently, sometimes causing families to be kicked out of their houses by mistake. I knew they were full of the kind of people who would convince working people to sign mortgages that the banks knew they could never repay, based on income information that the banks knew was fraudulent.

Now I find out that that isn't the only kind of person who works at banks. There are apparently some who aren't criminal masterminds, just workaday crooks. Small-time white-collar criminals who deal with Russian gangsters during the week to make an extra buck, but on the weekends go home and coach their kids' soccer teams. Very refreshing.

"Fraud" is a better term for it than "theft".

[khasim]

And fraud has been with us for a long, long time.

As the practices of the consumers have shifted (writing few checks, using less cash, increased credit/debit card use, on-line banking) the methods of fraud have shifted.

Unfortunately, the banks were able to also shift the "responsibility" for the fraud to the consumers.

If someone uses your identity to commit fraud then YOU are responsible for cleaning up the mess.

Even when YOU do not have any tools to PREVENT the fraud or even to be aware of it before the bank/store files a complaint against you.