Indictments to be made for ID theft and fraud The indictments are against some who were inmates at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City Jenn Strathman Michigan City, IN - Nearly two-dozen people are expected to be indicted for fraud and identity theft related crimes on Monday. It's the result of a lengthy investigation by several agencies including the US Attorney. Eight of these indictments involve the making of fake credit cards and IDs. The other 12 cases are believed to stem from an identity theft ring. Inmates at the Indiana State Prison in Michigan City partially ran the identity theft ring and some of the victims were widows. The scheme often started with the obituaries. The criminals would scan the notices and call widows. The callers told the widows they were helping them on behalf of the Social Security Administration and their credit card company. During the conversation, some widows revealed valuable information including a social security and credit card number. Bob Walsh with the Social Security Administration says, “It's a slick method of getting a credit card number from a new vulnerable widow and they are successful in getting the credit card number. Once they have the credit card number, the floodgates are open.” The floodgate to identity theft is open once someone has your personal information. It often takes up to a year before you realize you are a victim of ID theft and at that point it's a challenge to clear your name. More information about these indictments
will be revealed during a news conference on Monday with the US Attorney and the
St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s office. Until then, the federal documents
are sealed. From: http://www.wndu.com/news/092004/news_37549.php |