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 Ad For Boat Parts Was A Scheme Leading To Costly Identity Theft
by Sheriff Jim Coats
From the Desk of Sheriff Jim Coats
The transaction seemed simple enough; it involved the purchase of a boat part advertised in a classified ad offered for sale by a business. What made this transaction different was the seller insisted that the buyers send payment in the form of a cashiers check accompanied by a “personal identification sheet” that included a wide variety of data including a Social Security number. At least three buyers complied with these terms and the sales all appeared to go smoothly. Payment was made as requested and the part arrived as described and in a timely manner. But the problems were just beginning for the buyers who had unknowingly become victims of identity theft.
In August of 2005, a lawyer representing a credit card company contacted one of the victims in an attempt to resolve a debt from a merchant account opened in his name through a Safety Harbor business. The victim, a retired law enforcement officer, had never heard of the business he allegedly owned and in fact he had never even visited Florida. This began a lengthy investigation by the Sheriff’s Office Economic Crimes Unit, which recently resulted in the arrest of a Crystal Beach man on charges of identity theft and scheming to defraud.
According to detectives, the suspect in this
case used the personal information he obtained through the sale of
marine parts to open at least two businesses in the names of people who
had purchased items from him. He then fraudulently opened merchant
accounts with credit card companies, allowing him to obtain two credit
card processing machines. The machines were then used to electronically
transfer funds from a list of about 300 credit cards that had been
stolen or otherwise compromised. By the time his actions were
discovered, the suspect had acquired more than $118,000 through the
fraudulent credit card activity and had obtained more than $10,000
through check fraud.
I would like to take this opportunity to remind
anyone conducting business through the mail or over the Internet to use
caution when sending personal information. According to the National
Crime Victimization Survey conducted by the U.S. Department of
Justice more than a quarter million Americans were the victims of
identity theft in 2005 costing them more than $300 million.
Some simple suggestions for minimizing your
chances of becoming a victim of identity theft include monitoring all
of your bank statements from every credit card every month. It is also
strongly recommended that you never place your social security number
on your checks or your credit receipts and whenever possible use an
alternative to your Social Security number for identification purposes.
Experts in personal security recommend removing your name from
promotional lists and ordering a copy of your credit report at least
twice a year. This allows you the opportunity to correct and identify
errors or fraud quickly before extensive damage can occur.
“From the Desk of Sheriff Jim Coats” is prepared by the Public Information Office of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.
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