For the ninth year in a row, identity theft is the top consumer complaint as reported to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.  I bet next year will be the tenth.

I first got involved in the battle against identity theft in 1998 when I testified in July of that year before the United States House of Representatives about the growing threat of information brokers stealing and selling citizens’ financial information.  In 1999, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported for the first time that identity theft was the crime that Americans complained about the most as a consumer issue.  Since that year, identity theft has remained at the top of the list.

If anything, identity fraud and identity theft are now far more sophisticated crimes than they were back in the 90’s when the government first started to take note of the increasing levels of financial fraud associated with identity theft. 

There is no doubt that international organized crime is playing a significant role and even domestic cases are becoming more complex.  The days of merely stealing mail or dumpster diving for personal identifying information seem quaint at this point.  Today’s identity criminals are full-fledged participants in the world of cybercrime and utilize sophisticated hacking techniques to perform large scale data breaches.

The sad reality is there will be little relief from identity theft until there is a coordinated international effort backed up by laws that recognize this growing menace for the threat it is.  Until that day, we will continue to see identity theft continue as the top consumer complaint year after year.

A mail carrier in San Diego County is accused of stealing dozens of gift cards, debit cards and Social Security documents sent through the mail.The Sheriff’s Department said Monday that Allen Pitman is suspected of stealing the mail over the last four years while working for the U.S. Postal Service in Santee.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Tom Poulin says deputies found 30 gift cards, stolen mail, debit cards and money when Pitman was arrested after he finished his route Wednesday. Poulin says detectives also found Social Security documents and W-2 wage and tax statements at Pitman’s home.

See the full report at sfgate.com.

Nursing Home Employee Steals Patient’s Identity:

A Charleston woman faces 20 years in prison for mail fraud.

Pamela Jo Morris, 49, of Charleston, pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court to mail fraud.

While working at a nursing home, Morris stole the personal identifying information from a patient and applied for a credit card.

Upon receiving the credit card, Morris charged approximately $2,700 to the credit account.

See the full report at WOWKTV.

Meth Addicted Identity Thief Gets Prison:

He snatched people’s mail to get bank account numbers, stole more than $200,000 from 40 people and used methamphetamine in copious amounts, federal prosecutors said.

In the end, the bank fraud and identity theft earned Federal Way resident Kristofer Jensen a 10-year prison sentence Friday at the U.S. District Court in Seattle.

The 34-year-old’s actions were so egregious that U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman told him that methamphetamine addicts are “generally cowards.”

“They take the victim’s identity and steal from them in a cowardly way,” she said, according to a statement from prosecutors.

And she recommended that he get addiction treatment in prison.

From January 2007 to March 2008, he used account numbers from stolen mail and made fake identification cards to get money, prosecutors said. Those cards had the names of victims – but his photograph.

See the full report at Seattlepi.com.

Thirty Year Identity Theft Career Ends:

A 53-year-old Baltimore man was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison Friday for his role in an identity theft and mail fraud scheme that affected more than 250 victims and lasted nearly 30 years, the Maryland U.S. attorney’s office said.

According to the plea agreement, Loquann Johnson and his co-conspirators targeted neighborhoods with outdoor mailboxes, reaching in to grab the mail under the pretense of distributing advertising fliers.

The group stole checks, credit cards, tax refunds and mail-rental DVDs. They created phony identification cards so they could cash the checks, dressing in various costumes to impersonate their victims.

Johnson is responsible for at least $400,000 in losses. Two co-conspirators previously pleaded guilty in the scheme; they are scheduled for sentencing in March.

Source:  The Baltimore Sun