Identity Thieves -- A Family Affair

Remember Bonnie and Clyde? They weren’t family exactly but they were a couple, young and unmarried, with a scandalous reputation on many levels. Bonnie and Clyde were famous outlaws notorious for bank robberies and also killing nine policemen and several civilians. They were both killed in Lousiana by law officers at the ages of 23 and 25. Arthur Penn’s 1967 film made their reputation firm within the American pop folklore.

So that was the 1930’s. Today we still have the bank robbers but within our society we have other kinds of thieves. As our society has grown and progressed so have the different ways to steal. Yes there may be a slight risk that we could be held up at gunpoint at a bank, but do you know what our real risk is as an ordinary citizen? Having our identity stolen. I remember when I first heard that term, I imagined someone dressed up and masquerading as me -- perhaps donning a wig and driving my make of car. But it’s not even as sophisticated as that. Let’s look at a current story -- not even a famous one, but more an ordinary story that can happen everyday and to anyone whether you’re in your home, bank or local grocery story. So Bonnie and Clyde were kind of like family. What about mother and son? In Long Island back in March, a mother and son stole more than 60 identities. Their scheme was pretty simple: The mother, Tonia Cheeseman, worked at a doctor’s office where she would gain patient information from files and then Tonia and her son, Michael, would get credit cards in their victims’ names. They’ve been accused of stealing the identities of at least 63 people but these victims stretch far beyond the borders of Long Island, even as far as Florida. They’re both being held on bail for about $140,000 each. The most disturbing fact of our modern-day robbers is that they look like ordinary people -- no different to your neighbor next door. The Cheeseman’s neighbors even assumed they were nice innocent people.

What can we do? How can we know if we’re being duped? As sad as it is, a lot of thieves are well known to their victims. These kinds of thieves know our daily routine, they may have access to our financial information, and they even know such passwords as our mother’s maiden name. There are certain personality types you must be extra vigilant around:

1. Addicts who are sometimes desperate for money to get their next fix whether it be drugs, gambling or a number of other vices.


2. High living spenders whose job doesn’t match their lifestyle. They tend to rationalize and have little impulse control. They have to have the materials that go with the lifestyle, and they want it now.


3. Intrusive friends who are always asking questions that are none of their business -- especially financial questions. Beware if they claim they need your SSN to add you as a beneficiary to a policy etc.


4. A tarnished past of already stealing identities could be a vibrant red flag.


5. Watch your back with strangers who have access to your home and personal information. This could be when you have a party or your housekeeper’s son comes for a visit.

There are some signs to identify an identity thief, but as thieves have found different ways to rob us, we’ve found different ways to protect ourselves. We must be aware of the people in our life who have special access and then we must still be vigilant and even educate our children. Don’t ever give anyone else your credit card or PIN, always password protect your computer, and definitely lock up all important financial paperwork. If we do get duped -- and even if we don’t -- one way to protect ourselves is by subscribing to some kind of identity theft protection service. We may get tricked or fooled even when we know the signs and we’ve been extra cautious, but even after that we can protect ourselves by monitoring so we can catch these criminals before they cause years of damage to our lives and credit. Education and then putting into motion active protective measures is our way of catching the modern-day thieves.

Important Financial Steps when a Loved One Dies

Identity thieves are becoming craftier. No longer do they merely steal from the living, but now they’re targeting even the dead. There’s a familiar saying don’t kick ‘em when they’re down. That’s exactly what these thieves are doing to the family of the deceased.

We’ve all dealt with death and depending on our connection to the deceased, the emotional stress varies. The emotional stress is what these thieves exploit when they take advantage of the delay when family members don’t immediately do the necessary paperwork. There are also bureaucratic delays and this lag is exactly what the thief needs to accomplish his goal. And on a side note, if financial institutions aren’t notified of the death then the accounts of the dead can stay active for up to 10 years.

So what do these thieves then do? They may search the obituaries in the newspapers or steal death certificates or they may even seek out the numerous websites that enable them to check the social security death index. Whatever the case, they could end up with a real social security number and a name that goes with it. Both the obituaries and the social security index will have information on the deceased. At this point they may either sell the information to other crooks or keep the information to apply for loans, access more credit and therefore make more money. There are some guidelines that we can follow as family members of the deceased to protect both ourselves and our loved one’s name.

• When writing an obituary, don’t share unneeded information such as the date of birth or the address of the deceased.


• Obtain at least 10 copies of the official birth certificate. This will provide the needed proof to the financial institutions, such as credit bureaus and banks and any other establishments, even the motor vehicle department.


• Now with the official birth certificate, you can begin to personally notify stock brokers, banks, loan holders, mortgage companies, financial institutions, credit card companies and any other establishment where the deceased had an account. When notifying, include name and SSN of the deceased, last 5 years of addresses, including the last known, and the dates of birth and death. Any outstanding balances will have to be transferred and then close all accounts with a note that the account holder is deceased. This is added protection so that no new accounts will be opened in the deceased’s name. Keep copies of any communication with these businesses.


• The death should be reported to all three credit bureaus as soon as possible. Put a deceased alert on the credit file. Request a credit report with any active joint accounts. These may potentially have to be closed. After about 2 months, request a copy of the credit report of the deceased person from all three credit bureaus. This will ensure that the death was reported on the credit file and no other transactions have occurred since then.


• Contact the social security management and inform them about the death. Do this as soon as possible.


• Contact the motor vehicles department, requesting the cancellation of the driver’s license.


• Shred any important documents which hold the deceased person’s name such as utility bills, credit card bills, bank statements and any other similar papers.

Sadly though, these thieves aren’t only strangers but may be other family members. Take the recent case of a Utah County man, David Frank Pflegl. In 1987, David Frank Pfegl II was killed in a car crash in Canada at the age of 19. His father, the elder David Frank Pflegl, then used his son’s name to gain jobs, multiple licenses and even purchase a home. After a Utah investigation, Pflegl was arrested and booked in the Utah County Jail on suspicion of identity theft, communication fraud and forgery (Read the full story here).

When we’re grieving, the last thing we want to do is take care of such seemingly meaningless items of business. As hard as it may be, following these steps may prevent further pain caused by such shameless identity thieves.

Identity Theft Victims: Guilty until Proven Innocent

You'd think as a victim of identity theft, you'd have people bending over backwards to help you in your crisis. Just the opposite it seems, at least when it comes to creditors. The thieves can be idiots, even misspelling your name when signing as you, but you however have to be faultless, proving your innocence via your perfection. Because if not, those creditors will continue to harass, assuming you’re a lazy deadbeat and unwilling to pay your bills. Obviously the best scenario is to prevent such a situation: Take all the steps to protect your identity such as not carrying your social security card in your wallet, having a lock on your mailbox, using caution when using credit cards (ie. Stay with the card when paying at a restaurant), travel with limited credit cards -- even prepaid cards -- and be guarded when giving out personal information. Another crucial precaution is to routinely check your credit score and even better; be enrolled in an identity theft protection program. In this way, you'll be alerted when suspicious purchases are made on your credit card and if your credit score changes drastically and even if you've opened up new accounts. Being enrolled in such a program is the best prevention and also provides current information on identity theft resources. We need to be continually updated on the new scams as identity thieves are getting sneakier and more creative. There's even a recent trend of stealing children's identity, demonstrating that these crooks will stoop to any level.

Just before Christmas, a story came out in Spartanburg, South Carolina where a mother learned that someone was using the social security number of her deceased son. Imagine a Christmas present that consisted of the IRS sending you a letter informing you that someone had filed a tax return under your dead child's name. Ricki Escalante's son died at ten months from SIDS. Now it's up to Ricki to send as much information about her son to the IRS(Read the full story).

Social security numbers of children are valuable resources for thieves. Why? It is assumed parents don't check the credit reports of their children. Once again the best defense is to have your children's credit reports monitored and even place a freeze on their credit files. So with any newfound scam, monitoring is always the best way to secure your name and credit.

Credit Card Identity Theft

Police of Morgan Hill, California received a call for a potential DUI, but instead three people were arrested for numerous incidents of identity theft. The driver of the Camaro, Charles Allen, didn't have a license and the passenger, Arena Adanandus, had a suspended license and neither one had ownership documentation of the Camaro. Allen was arrested on suspicion of driving with a suspended license. In the meantime, they impounded the Camaro and found merchandise totaling $800+ from Home Depot. The passenger, Adanandus, had used a customer's account number where she had fraudulently added her own name and the grand total of charges is suspected to be around $3,400. Not only that, but the Camaro was rented using a stolen credit card. During this time a third party, Aaron Fields, came to the station to meet with Allen and Adanandus and the kicker -- he drove to the station in a Ford Fusion which he rented using stolen credit card information. All three were arrested and booked (Read the full story here).

Identity theft is a recognized problem and credit card identity theft is one of the forms it may take. As in the prior case, the thief can use details of another person's credit card and wrack up debts which the unsuspecting customer ends up with. They may also use the person's name and information to open up new credit cards where they charge to the victim's name. So how can they even get this information? Through stealing mail from your mailbox or trash, credit card skimming, or stealing information from records where your details are kept (such as a crooked employee or a thief breaking into hospital records etc).

Some simple tips to prevent identity theft are:

1. Shred any documents with personal information before putting in the trash.
2. Opt out of mailing lists where credit card offers are sent through the mail.
3. Keep your eyes on your credit card at all times especially at stores and restaurants. It's not just on the internet where you need to be careful.
4. Identity theft insurance services.

Identity theft is a growing problem but gradually people are becoming more aware of it and are protecting and educating themselves against these types of crimes. As in the case cited, some of these losers do get caught and we're all happy when they bring their 'friends' along for the ride.