ID theft : childhood identity theft

Three stories of child ID theft

IdentityTheft — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 18:49:00 GMT

Shiloh Puckett, Diamond Daye and Jason Truxel have probably never met, but they have a lot in common--each of them has been a victim of child identity theft.

At least one in 20 children--one child in every elementary school classroom--is an identity theft victim, according to a study by Javelin Strategy and Research. In nearly all child ID theft cases, a parent or other family member who has easy access to the child’s Social Security number commits the crime.

In Shiloh Puckett’s case, it was her mom.

The first credit card account in Shiloh’s name was opened when she was only five years old. By the time she was 10, 17 credit card accounts had been opened using her information and she’d been approved for a $42,000 loan.

“I did it because I had to, as a means of necessity,” Cindy Puckett said. “I feel bad I did it, and I shouldn’t have done it. At the time, I didn’t really think it was wrong in the sense I was hurting my child.”

Puckett served six months in jail after police discovered hundreds of pieces of evidence against her, including credit cards, unpaid bills and loan applications in her daughter’s name.

Diamond Daye’s story is pretty much the same. Her mother, Maurine Walter, used her daughter’s Social Security number to apply for apartments and utilities, cable TV and cell phone service because her own lousy credit made it impossible to pass credit checks.

Many parents claim they had to use their children’s identities because they were stuck between rock and a hard place: When there’s not enough money to cover essentials, they use a kid’s name and SSN intending to pay the bills and make everything right before the child grows up.

In other cases, the crime is just too easy, and the loot is irresistible. That seems to be the case with Michael Truxel, whom his son, Jason Truxel, says used his personal information for lavish spending.

Jason Truxel’s credit record shows he took out the first of 23 credit cards when he was 13, bought a house at 14 and, at 17, bought a timeshare condo in Daytona Beach. Jason said he found a dresser full of bills at his father’s house. In the same dresser, he said he found 15 credit cards in his name.

Think your family's dysfunctional? Unless Dad stole your identity, this family's got yours beat.

IdentityTheft — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:19:00 GMT

Paul L. Kelly used to be the district attorney in Eau Claire County, Wisconsin. After that he was an attorney in private practice. He was a dad and grandpa.

As of yesterday, though, he’s a convicted felon found guilty of 35 of 43 charges of identity theft, fraud and forgery. The victim of these crimes is Kori L. Kelly, Paul L. Kelly’s daughter. More charges pertaining to his grandson are pending.

According to the criminal complaint, Kelly said he had power of attorney for his daughter, who then lived in Colorado. He bought a $7,500 car and a $7,200 conversion van. He also took out a $128,000 mortgage to buy a house in her name. The he filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy on his daughter’s behalf.

There may yet be a second trial to determine Paul L. Kelly’s guilt or innocence on four more charges that he committed additional crimes of the same nature using his grandson’s identity.

Kelly’s accused of using his grandson’s Social Security number on an application for a $56,000 loan to buy a piece of land. He again claimed to have power of attorney, but said on the application his grandson was a 25-year-old construction worker.

To strengthen the ruse, Kelly took forged W-2s, employment records and another man who posed as Kelly’s grandson.

The grandson was 8 years old at the time the crimes were committed.

Kelly was Eau Claire County district attorney from 1965 to 1968. He was a private practitioner until 1982 when he was disbarred under accusations of unprofessional conduct, misusing clients’ funds and filing false reports.

Palm Beach County schools cop accused of stealing identities of teachers, students

IdentityTheft — Thu, 21 May 2009 15:49:00 GMT

Identity thieves frequently come at their victims from the most unexpected quarters. For instance, it’s been well documented that many identity theft victims are targeted by people they know and trust: family members, employees and hired professionals such as accountants and real estate agents.

Add cops to that list.

Jonathan E. Kelly, a Palm Beach County schools police officer, is accused of stealing the identities of at least 20 teachers and students and was arrested yesterday.

His case isn’t helped by his February arrest on charges of breaking into cars, a method identity thieves frequently use to gain their victims’ personal information.

Assistant district attorney Al Johnson said he expects to find more victims of Kelly’s “impressive organized scheme.”

According to a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s report, Kelly used the district offices’ computers during his six years on the job to steal his victims’ personal information, opened credit card accounts and had the cards sent to empty houses in the gated community where he lives.

Kelly is also accused of stealing checks written to area high schools.

Daniel Farias Elisha, an associate of Kelly’s, told investigators he fenced goods Kelly stole in Palm Beach and Sarasota Counties, selling them on eBay or Craigslist, then wired thousands of dollars in proceeds back to Kelly.

Elisha also said he sold stolen credit cards he got from Kelly, and that they used at least one themselves.

Investigators who searched Kelly’s home and car found names, addresses, birthdates, Social Security numbers, bank routing numbers, email addresses, passwords, original checks and other identifying documents, according to the sheriff’s report.

Child identity theft; be careful with those summer camp registrations

IdentityTheft — Mon, 18 May 2009 15:54:00 GMT

School will be out in just a few weeks, and if you haven’t already done it, it’s time to fill out those registration forms to get your kids into summer camp.

This year, take special care when completing those registration forms. Most summer camps ask for children’s birth dates and Social Security numbers, but—in most cases—they don’t really need them. And, every time those bits or identifying information are divulged and recorded, the child’s identity theft risk increases.

The Federal Trade Commission estimates that 500,000 children are identity theft victims every year, and the Identity Theft Resource Center discovered that more than half of those children are under the age of six; in fact, the younger the child, the more appealing a target he or she is for identity thieves.

Until people apply for credit, they have no credit file, but when that first application is submitted, a credit history is initiated, and whatever information—such as the birth date submitted by the applicant—becomes part of that file.

Most children and parents don’t discover the crime until the child applies for a job car loan, student loan or apartment lease. By that time the thief is long gone, and the victim’s credit record may show years of unpaid credit card bills, auto loans and even mortgages.

Worse still, the child could end up with a criminal history if the thief has used that stolen identity to acquire a driver’s license and been caught committing other crimes.

The first step in protecting your child’s identity is refusing to give out a birth date or Social Security number unless it’s absolutely necessary. So, when you fill out those registration forms for summer camp, sports programs, scouting, etc., leave those fields blank; chances are, nobody will notice. If they object, explain your reasoning. With any luck, they’ll not only let it go, but revise the forms to help protect the children they’re caring for.

NY tax office retiree accused of identity theft, stealing state records of 2,000

IdentityTheft — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:27:00 GMT

Looking for new ways to supplement your post-retirement income and boost your standard of living? Walter Healey, a retired New York state Office of Taxation and Finance, apparently had a good thing going—until he was arrested this week, that is.

It seems Healey helped himself to information from tax forms of thousands of New Yorkers and used it to take out nearly 100 credit cards and credit lines at a couple dozen different banks. Total value: more than $200,000.

So far, the NY Attorney General’s office has discovered accounts opened with Social Security numbers of at least 15 identity theft victims, including four dead people and a four-year-old boy. Among the dead people were his mother and sister (no harm, no foul?).

Of course, all these accusations are only allegations, but when Healey’s home was searched, officials found a boatload of damning evidence, including:

Copies of over 700 New York State tax forms containing identifying information of New York taxpayers
Numerous identity documents, including copies of over 300 birth certificates and over 1,000 Social Security cards in the names of various New York taxpayers and their children
Hundreds of pages of credit card statements, credit card inquiry letters, credit applications and credit cards in the names of “Walter Healey” and numerous other individuals
Approximately 2,000 Post-It notes with the Social Security Numbers of New York taxpayers handwritten on them - many of them accompanied by handwritten notes such as “good prospect,” “had money,” and “go with this one”

Jerry Van Le accused of stealing children's SSNs from mortgage applications

IdentityTheft — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:44:00 GMT

Many mortgage brokers got rich in those golden days of inflated housing prices and loose credit. Jerry Van Le, a mortgage broker from the Sacramento area, made his millions by stealing Social Security numbers from his clients’ mortgage applications, according to an affidavit filed in federal court last week.

Le is accused of stealing the Social Security numbers of dozens of children, immigrants and others who hadn’t yet established credit.

Le allegedly used some of the stolen information to buy a house worth roughly $.5 million, five vehicles, electronics and luxury clothing and shoes. So far, police have impounded a $100,000 BMW 645 Ci, a $87,000 Mercedes, a new Toyota Tacoma pickup truck and a $50,000 2003 BMW 745 Li. They've also seized $100,000 in credit cards.

The affidavit also states that Le sold other Social Security numbers nationwide for anywhere from $3,500 to $6,000 a piece.

Within an 18-month period, roughly 2,400 individuals made fraudulent purchases with information they bought from or through Le, according to a Placer County Sheriff’s detective.

Employees at Highway Furniture/NewYork Funding Group Inc. allegedly manufactured credit histories based on the stolen Social Security numbers so the stolen identities appeared credit worthy and could be used to make purchases.

“It’s a $100 million ring,” said Lauren Horwood, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento.

Child identity theft is thought to be a rapidly growing crime, with at least 500,000 children victimized annually. Children make especially appealing targets for identity thieves because the crimes are usually not discovered until many years later when the child turns 18 and applies for credit to finance college or a first car.

Le was charged with bank, wire and computer fraud, but did not enter a plea during his initial court appearance last week.

Child identity theft leaves longlasting scars

IdentityTheft — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 20:18:00 GMT

“Childhood is what we spend the rest of our lives overcoming.” Amy Bennett

We’re all at least a little scuffed up by the time we leave childhood behind. The unmitigated cruelties of other children, the injustices meted out by exasperated parents and the bitter rivalries among siblings leave scrapes and bruises on our psyches. The luckiest among us suffer psychic injuries no greater than those left on our knees by our first intercourse with two-wheelers.

Other children aren’t as lucky. Besides the crimes of abuse, children can also carry the scars of childhood identity theft into adulthood. A child’s family members--most frequently the parents--usually commit childhood identity theft. The crime usually goes undetected until the child is entering adulthood and attempting to acquire credit for the first time.

Zach Friesen found out he was a victim of childhood identity theft at 17 when he was denied a job a stock clerk. When Zach was only seven someone else had stolen his identity and used to finance a $40,000 houseboat, but never made the payments. He later learned that his absent father was the perpetrator. Friesen spent two years clearing his identity, and another 10 years trying to clean up his credit record.

Family members aren’t the only ones to target children. Every time a child’s personal information is given out for school, daycare, sports programs and medical, another opportunity for theft is created.

The Federal Trade Commission estimates that 500,000 children become victims every year, but they don’t track childhood identity theft separately, so they can only estimate. What they do know is that the number of reported incidents is climbing. Three percent of all complaints in 2003 were about people under 18; in 2004 that climbed to 4%, and climbed again to 5% between 2005 and 2007.

What you can do
At least once a year request a credit report in your child’s name from all three credit reporting agencies. There shouldn’t be one for a minor. If a credit report exists, contact the police to report the crime, and notify the credit bureaus that your child is a victim of identity theft.