Thousands of Oklahomans reported having their identities stolen in 2005, according to a recent report.
One metro woman hopes her nightmare with identity theft can be a lesson to everyone else.
Two years ago, somebody became Becky Pennington Moore, at least in the eyes of creditors. They opened accounts, ran up bills and ruined Moore’s credit.
“I opened this (bill) up, and it said it owed $4,033,” she said.
According to a book published by the Federal Trade Commission, Oklahomans were ripped off for millions of dollars in 2005. One person even reported getting scammed out of $1.8 million.
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Federal authorities are investigating a Reno woman arrested on identity theft charges after she was stopped driving a stolen rental truck packed with stolen credit cards and checks, the Nevada Highway Patrol reported.
The U.S. Postal Service, Nevada Division of Investigations and NHP are investigating Michelle Anthony, 19, of Reno, said Trooper Chuck Allen, NHP spokesman. The expanded investigation involves out-of-state stolen credit cards and checks.
Anthony was stopped Oct. 25 by a trooper after she failed to stop at a stop sign at Sixth and West streets, Allen said. She had been driving a U-Haul truck with a spray-painted graffiti on its side. Allen said the truck had been stolen from a Reno service center, where it was supposed to be returned earlier that month.
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Tennessee - The Bradley County Sheriff’s Office reported a case of identity theft over the weekend when a woman discovered her bank account was overdrawn. She contacted her bank and was told the account has four charges pending in Illinois. Those transactions amount to several hundred dollars.
Another woman received notice from a collection agency of an unpaid bill for a computer that was purchased two years ago. She filed a police report denying any knowledge of the purchase.
Last week a woman learned of charges in her name amounting to several thousand dollars that were made without her knowledge.
The sheriff’s office investigated several assaults over the weekend. In one investigation both parties involved in the disagreement were arrested for domestic assault. In another, a 17-year-old was named in Juvenile Court papers charged with assault for verbal threats he made.
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Tybee Police have arrested two people in connection with the worst series of car break-ins on the island in years. Investigators believe 24 year old Rachel Carter from Statesboro and 27 year old Joshua Graham from Savannah may have broken in to seventeen cars in the last month. Police say they stole credit cards, check books and electronic gear. They spotted the couple in a stolen rental car in a Tybee parking lot. Both are now facing several charges.
Police say if you are heading to the beach, be exceptionally careful, especially since you probably won’t take your wallet and valuables with you and someone could be watching to see where you leave them. Investigators say you should stow your valuables under your seat or in the trunk, preferably before you get to the beach. Tybee Police say you also need to lock your doors. Too many people don’t, said Tybee Police Chief James Price, including many of the victims of last month’s car break-ins.
“Some of the vehicles were left unlocked,” he said. “In fact, the majority of them were left unlocked.”
Cars with valuables in plain sight are ready targets. Unfortunately, you might lose more than your wallet. Last month, thieves stole identities and maxed out credit cards.
“They’re easy prey,” explained Price. “They (thieves) took one checkbook from a lady lives out in South Carolina. “They probably took her for about $18,000 in checks.”
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A businessman accused in a multi-state theft case was indicted late last week by a Lawrence County grand jury.
Charles W. Jenkins, 35, of 801 High St., Coal Grove, the co-owner of Buckeye Public Safety Equipment in Ironton, was indicted on 19 charges.
Alleged offenses include three counts of fourth-degree felony grand theft, one count of second- degree felony engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, six counts of first-degree misdemeanor identity theft, four counts of first-degree misdemeanor theft, two counts of fifth-degree felony theft and three counts of fourth-degree felony theft.
Jenkins was arrested in March after Ironton Police received several phone calls from people saying they had done business with Jenkins in the past but had found charges on their credit cards for items they had not purchased from Jenkins’ business. The alleged illegal activity took place between February and early March.
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A fugitive wanted for a string of identity thefts targeting Delano city employees is behind bars.
Police said 30-year-old Patricia Anaya never worked for the City of Delano, but she somehow stole personal information from more than 20 city employees.
Investigators said Anaya opened new accounts and ran up credit cards in their names.
Paul Arjona and dozens of his co-workers are relieved to know a fugitive suspected of stealing their identities has been captured.
The scammers racked up $4,000 at Gateway Computers in Arjona’s name.
“It messed up everything,” said Arjona. “I had good credit history.”
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Sen. Maria Cantwell has called for a study linking identity theft with methamphetamine abuse.
If the study leads to more public awareness and stiffer penalties for both crimes, then Cantwell’s study will have served a useful purpose.
Identity theft is among the fastest-growing crimes in the nation, according to Cantwell, Washington’s junior senator. She expects the study to show how identity theft is used to support meth addiction.
Spokane County Sheriff Mark Sterk said a property-crimes task force found that 93 percent of about 300 felony charges it brought were linked to meth.
There is a broad consensus that meth users support their habit by stealing other people’s credit cards and checking-account numbers. They dig through garbage containers or ransack people’s mailboxes in their quest for personal identification they can use to steal a person’s identity.
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It used to be that identity theft was something that happened to other people.
Not anymore.
Whether it is a roommate who rifles through your bank statements when you’re not home or a thief who steals credit card information from a mail box, identity theft is common enough now that those “other people” are likely your relatives, friends or neighbors.
Millions of Americans every year see their credit destroyed, their bank accounts raided and their sense of well-being ripped to shreds by this pernicious crime, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
Disclosures by Master Card and Lexis Nexis last week that hundreds of thousands of account numbers and Social Security and driver’s license numbers have been hacked are indications the problem is only getting worse.
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A Virginia man who stole the identity of a Perry County man has been sentenced to county prison.
Kenneth L. Bear of the 400 block of Stover Avenue, Strasburg, Va., was sentenced Thursday in Perry County Court by President Judge C. Joseph Rehkamp to 6 months to 2 years less one day on four counts of identity theft.
Bear, 59, pleaded guilty in March. He was arrested in January.
According to court documents, a Penn Twp. man and his wife applied for a small loan in May 2004 and were rejected. The couple was told their credit had “too many negative scores.”
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