Where Is She?
By karen | June 24, 2008
While at the court house this morning waiting to give my statement for restitution to the judge and Maria, I was told it would be postponed due to the fact that she was taken to Kern County.
I was told Maria Nelson will most likely go to State prison.
Not only was she wanted in Yolo County, while stealing my identity in San Francisco, but they were also looking for her in Kern County. She is presently in jail without bail in Kern County awaiting trial and sentencing in both Kern and Yolo.
Jeffery Bell, who was with her at the coffee shop, the day I caught her, has also been arrested and is in jail. He has been her partner-in-crime, so I’m relieved they also got him.
It’s not quite over, stay tuned…
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identity theft
By karen | May 28, 2008
I recently got a phone call from a credit card company verifying that I requested a card on May 15th. I had not. The person I talked to verified my personal info including current address. This did not match what they had from a person that was trying to get a card in my name. Not only did this person have my name, but my SS# and most recent address prior to current. I have no idea how this person got my info. She listed her address as Decatur, GA. I do not live there, but did pass through there a week before she started applying for credit in my name. When I bought something I paid cash, so she didn’t get any bank card info, but if she has my social she could get my banking info too.
I was given the fraud alert numbers for the 3 credit bureaus which I immediately called; and ran my credit reports as well. I put out a fraud alert with all 3. In reading my credit reports I found that this person has tried to get credit cards with at least 8 companies. I was able to call some of them and make sure they were denied.
Is there anything else I need to do to stop this person before she does get approved for something in my name, or gets in to my bank account? I know I can get a security freeze with the credit bureaus, but isn’t that the same as putting out a fraud alert? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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I became a victim of identity theft from my own husband!
By karen | May 19, 2008
FBI in Jackson, MS let my husband get away with it. The FBI showed up at my house to let me know that my husband was being indicted on bank fraud. I filed for divorce immediately and hired a criminal attorney to protect me from him……. needless to say thats when I found out about numerous types of accounts to many credit cards that he opened up……… and forwarded my mail……. bills, bank statements to his fathers address, and allowed credit card companies access to my personal bank account. Married people need to be PROTECTED TOO! Just because we’re married, it doesn’t give you the right to do whatever you want in the other persons name! HELP! It needs to be stopped. I am currently working with Chesapeake, VA police department. They are hopeful in prosecuting him. I want justice! And the government needs to protect us from our spouse…….a crime is a crime, no matter who you are!
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Photo ID Required and Photocopy wallet Info
By karen | May 12, 2008
1) Do not sign the back of your credit cards. Instead, put PHOTO ID REQUIRED
2) PHOTOCOPY: Place the contents of your wallet on a photocopy machine. Do both sides of each license, credit card, etc. You will know what you had in your wallet and all of the account numbers and phone numbers to call and cancel. Keep the photocopy in a safe place. I also carry a photocopy of my passport when I travel either here or abroad.
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Good Samaritan
By karen | May 7, 2008
Today I had God on my side. I cannot believe I left my purse sitting on the back of a chair at lunch today in a busy plaza outside in Oakland, CA. It wasn’t even two minutes later that I realized what I had done. I ran back to the table, my purse was gone. I asked the men sitting at the table directly across from it and they didn’t see a thing. I was in shock. I asked again, “You didn’t see anything? You didn’t see anyone?” I insisted. But to no avail, they did not.
I went into the restaurant and asked the manager if anyone turned in a purse? He looked around but came up empty. He said I should go to the security offices across the street and let them know what had happened. I was in tears by the time I got to the office. Flashbacks of identity theft trauma were entering my being. I was crippled with sadness that my purse with my wallet and all my identity was again compromised. The horror of again spending more time on recovering my identity was too much. Even knowing I was protected with a really good protection product iDefend didn’t ease my mind. I didn’t want to have to deal with this reality.
I gave them all the information I had and they sent out a search. Nothing came up. I would have to go back to my client’s office and start making phone calls, I would have to borrow money to get home, I would have to file a police report, contact the people at iDefend; so many things entering my mind. The security officer was telling me what I should do in order to protect my identity. I laughed to myself as he was telling me the steps to take. Should I tell him, how aware I was of what I would need to do? I couldn’t muster up the energy to explain. I listened, thanked him and dragged my self back to the office.
After crying to my friends, I started making the calls to close down my credit cards. I was numb and I felt like my worst nightmare was being realized, a victim of identity theft again. The life in me was gone. After closing down my main cards, I decided to try my cell phone. The security officer tried earlier but no answer. I dialed my number 5 times and on that fifth try someone answered the phone.
“You’re on my phone,” I said.
“Yes, I found your purse.”
“You did?”
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“At a table near La Salsa.”
“yes, that’s mine, Oh my God…”
“I’m at cityhall.”
“I’m near there..”
“I can be out by the main steps in 5 minutes.”
“Okay, I’ll be there. I’m coming”
Diane was listening. She insisted I get Juan to bring him with me. He was my protector.
God answered my prayers. I was getting my purse back.
Everything was in the purse. Nothing was taken. I gave her a big hug and offered her $20. She accepted.
I found a wallet once (about two years back) but when I was offered money I declined any. I figured this was something I should do and would do. I didn’t need a reward. I just wanted the good Karma.
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Beware of Non-Official Credit Report Websites
By karen | April 30, 2008
I was amazed when I was doing a Google search for the official Annual Credit Report service through the FTC.gov site, so I could forward the URL to a friend it wasn’t coming up though it looked like it was. When I type in annualcreditreport [note: with no spaces] it came up with a non-official website I didn’t recognize. Then when I typed in annualcreditreport.com, which is the website’s URL it also came up with the non-official site.
The official site comes through the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The URL is: https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp. Do a search with spaces and it comes up.
Make sure it is the one sponsored by the three major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, TransUnion. You can request the report from online or through the mail.
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IBD Article re: Lodrick Identity Theft
By karen | April 23, 2008
Interesting story, Karen.
Here is our (my) story in a nutshell:
I received a phone call from a police officer in Bellevue, Washington who had arrested an individual (MLS) in a routine traffic stop, who had a ton of my personal financial information in his possession. The information was paper copy of a loan application with everything on it.
We had recently applied for a commercial loan with a lender AMCC) and had furnished mucho information to obtain financing. Apparently, he had obtained it from the mortgage originator. I contacted the mortgage originator and advised him he might have a leaky ship when it comes to his internal controls.
The individual had opened new charge accounts in my name, charged purchased on my main Master Card, &c. It is interesting to note that in order to get access to my Master Card account, he had to have found out the typical mothers maiden name. There must be a way through public records, of finding out this information. If anyone knows about this, please advise.
Several thousand dollars of charges were made by MLS, which I didn’t make payments for. The Master Card people had to eat. On the other cards opened fraudulently by MLS in my name. I contacted and advised they were not opened by me. Some of them were shut down. On subsequent credit reports, some of them still showed up as still existing, but no activity. In any event, after several years, my credit was still in the high 700’s, so I don’t think I suffered any harm.
My wife took out credit identity theft insurance through one bank we do business with. I told her I thought this was a waste of money, in that, all they will pay you for is your “cost” to get your business re-righted. That cost is, mainly, time. I don’t think those policies pay you for your time. If anyone has feedback here, please advise.
Karen Lodrick, question: it was unclear from the IBD article whether the bank ate your loss, or whether you did? IMO, it was they, not you, who slipped up in their fiduciary duty. What was your total dollar loss (if any) other than headaches and wasted time? Please advise.
The Bellevue police department contacted me several times, and wanted to know if I wanted to press charges. I said “yes”. All of this happened in 2004. I never heard any outcome to any action taken against MLS.
Any questions or comments welcome.
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A Dateline Identity Theft Story on YouTube
By karen | April 8, 2008
Learn how the thieves rip you off! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKCCIZQRg5U
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Beware of the Botnet
By karen | March 21, 2008
Botnets, what is it and why is it so dangerous? Bots show up as emails. Everyone one of us has received emails from friends and family that have the latest news event like “the real reason” actor Heath Ledger died, February of 2008. We all get our interests peaked and we click to see. Well BEWARE!
Bots are compromised computers controlled by profit-minded crooks. These emails were spread by a network of thousands of bots, called a botnet. Anyone who clicked on the link got instantly absorbed into the fast-spreading Mega-D botnet. Mega-D enriches its operators, mainly by distributing spam for male-enhancement pills.
Largely unnoticed by the public, botnets have come to inundate the Internet. On a typical day, 40% of the 800 million computers connected to the Internet are bots engaged in distributing e-mail spam, stealing sensitive data typed at banking and shopping websites, says Rick Wesson, CEO of Support Intelligence, a San Francisco-based company that tracks and sells threat data. Wesson says. “The mechanisms we use to protect our networks simply are not working.”
The botnet problem shows no sign of easing. In January 2008, there were 7.3 million unique instances of bots carrying out criminal activities on an average day, a large jump from the 333,000 in August 2006. That included botnet-delivered spam, which accounts for 91% of all e-mails.
The bottom line, Internet service providers must absorb the cost of carrying botnet traffic; which ultimately leads the expense being passed onto us, the consumer. Meanwhile, tens of millions of botted computer users are experiencing degraded performance with no clue why. New machines feel like they are old and so we end up buying upgrades sooner trying to fix the issue, but a good cleaning and protection is all most computers need. Link here for more information.
Beyond that, cybercrime gangs are stockpiling enough stolen data to fuel identity theft scams for years to come. Meanwhile, law enforcement is negligible, and security protections for consumers and businesses remain, at best, patchwork and haphazardly deployed. Experts say, the botnet landscape is shifting, and the worst is yet to come.
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Punishment needs to be stiffer for Identity Thieves
By karen | March 17, 2008
So what do you think? Do you think a maximum of one year in jail for 37 counts of identity theft that involved 152 victims in 33 states is justice?
Tina Marie Ryan, 43, residing in Santa Rosa, Ca. was arrested in February after a two-month investigation. It started when a woman in Georgia called the sheriff’s department to report her credit card was used to make an unauthorized purchase that was shipped to the thief’s address in Santa Rosa. Detectives intercepted the package, arranged to have the package redelivered to the intended location, and then witness the thief accepting the delivery.
The thief obtained the victims’ personal and credit card information by accessing the database of her previous employer. The identity theft involved merchandise purchased over the Internet totaling $14,000.
Ryan was booked into the Sonoma County jail on 152 counts of identity theft, 79 counts of credit card fraud, grand theft of credit card information, possession of stolen property and accessing a database for identity theft.
On March 12, the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office filed 36 counts of unauthorized use of personal information to obtain credit, goods or services and one count of possession of personal identification with intent to defraud. Both charges are felonies punishable by a year in the county jail or a state prison term. Can you believe that is the maximum? It is outrageous! And better yet Ryan is out of custody, walking free, due to appear in court again in two weeks for a possible resolution of the case.
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