Thieves steal dead people’s identities
Special to the Gazette
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Hartford is among Kansas towns in which deceased people’s identities have been stolen, according to the Kansas attorney general’s office.
The attorney general’s office has received reports that there may have been fraudulent accounts opened in the names of deceased persons throughout the State of Kansas.
Areas impacted include Topeka, Overland Park, Wichita, El Dorado, Hartford, Andover, Kansas City, Hays, Abilene, Lawrence, Whitewater and Newton. Some of the accounts seem to be the type of accounts used to finance purchases through the retail stores.
Should Kansans discover that a recently deceased relative receives a credit card or any type of invoice on a new account, they should verify the information and confirm that the debt is owed. If the account was opened without authorization, report this immediately to local law enforcement.
If you find your loved one has been a victim of ID theft after death:
F File a police report
F Obtain a copy of the deceased person’s credit report and place a “deceased alert” with each credit bureau.
F If an invoice or other notification of account has been received, contact that business. You may have to provide evidence of death to have the account closed.
F Contact the Attorney General’s Office to get the Identity Theft Repair Kit at www.ksag.org or 1(800) 432-2310.
Ways to prevent ID theft of deceased persons:
F Notify all banks, credit card companies and any other places the person may have had an account or loan.
F Contact the credit bureaus in writing and request a “deceased alert” be placed on their credit report. It would also be a good idea to request a copy of their report at that time to assist in notifying companies.
F You may also want to verify with the Social Security Administration, Veteran’s Administration, Division of Motor Vehicles and other organizations or membership clubs.
Comments
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Posted by tillie (anonymous) on October 6, 2008 at 3:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
How despicable!
Posted by USNretired (anonymous) on October 6, 2008 at 6:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Any profile as to who to watch out for?
Posted by neighbor (anonymous) on October 6, 2008 at 7:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Oh USN, can't use the profile word, that might cause prejudice against the thieving, unethical, uncaring criminals.(read with a dash of sarcasm)
I'll give you a hint, they are not in the country legally..... usually.
Posted by create (anonymous) on October 7, 2008 at 8:05 a.m. (Suggest removal)
There are plenty of scumbag Americans committing these despicable crimes, no need to profile any one group. The real concern should be what to do about this. What can we do immediately when a loved one dies? For one thing, we must enlist the help of the newspaper publishing the obituary. No dates, no addresses. Here's a very good article from AARP that gives one eye-opening case history and then offers some advice. Should be required reading for all of us. Wait till you see how easy it is.
http://www.aarp.org/money/consumer/artic...
Posted by OutsiderJ (anonymous) on October 7, 2008 at 8:49 a.m. (Suggest removal)
There's that side pocket racism I love about good 'ol Emporia. Way to keep it alive Neighbor.
(read with a hint of sarcasm and a dollup of disgust.)
Posted by neighbor (anonymous) on October 7, 2008 at 10:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Oh yeah, throw out the race card even though there was no single race of people identified in my previous post. I'm not a racist, I prefer to think of myself as a realist. Identity theft is commonly connected with illegal immigration, fact. Create is exactly right, there are American citizens who commit the identity thefts as well, but they are a drop in the bucket compared to the number of thefts committed by other foreign nationals that are within the USA legally and illegally. Often times, citizens will sell the identity information to people outside our borders, where the market exists. Many residents and foreigners commit the thefts on-line.
You're right OutsiderJ, I am prejudiced, I have no use for any criminal.
Posted by OutsiderJ (anonymous) on October 7, 2008 at 10:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Whatever helps you sleep at night neighbor.
Posted by OutsiderJ (anonymous) on October 7, 2008 at 10:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Here is an article that tells you who commits identity theft.
http://identity.privacymatters.com/ident...
Try to find an allusion to illegal imigrants in it. The nearest I could come was in an article that said some identity thieves use it as a means to gain access to services they would not have otherwise. And some vague reference to human trafficking. But I believe it was fake i.d. for the trafficker not the traffickee.
And because you did not mention a specific race is why I called it 'side pocket racism'. Maybe I should have used racist undercurrent.
I'll give a hint: Just because you heard someone you think is smart say something you agree with does not mean it is correct.
Posted by OutsiderJ (anonymous) on October 7, 2008 at 10:48 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Here is the site I mentioned above:
http://identity.privacymatters.com/ident...
Posted by OutsiderJ (anonymous) on October 7, 2008 at 10:53 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Sorry I posted the same lind twice. The second one should have been:
http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/prg/le/bs/...
Neither of these link identity theft to illegal immigration. They link it primarily to money. So your statement: "Identity theft is commonly connected with illegal immigration, fact"
Is not a fact I could find. Perhaps you could enlighten me.
Posted by neighbor (anonymous) on October 7, 2008 at 1:30 p.m. (Suggest removal)
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d02830t.pdf...
Posted by OutsiderJ (anonymous) on October 7, 2008 at 1:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
No wonder I couldn't find that one. Its 6 years old.
Posted by neighbor (anonymous) on October 7, 2008 at 2 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Keep in mind I said it is commonly connected with illegal immigration, I did not say that it is the most common or sole motive for it happening worldwide. Hopefully they will find the person/people behind these reported thefts and we will all know who did it.
Gazette-Has anything happened recently with the identity thefts recently where Emporia resident's cards were being used unlawfully in Chicago?
Posted by OutsiderJ (anonymous) on October 7, 2008 at 2:02 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I meant to elaborate on above but somehow posted it instead. I think that was written before the explosion of identity thefts we are seeing today, which are primarily for theft of funds.
Posted by OutsiderJ (anonymous) on October 7, 2008 at 2:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Out of 800,000 identity theft claims in 2007 only 14% dealt with using someone else's identity to get employment. That is 112,000, which I will grant is a huge number, but hardly the "usual" use of stolen identity. According to the source of my information 70% were used in various kinds of fraud, from credit card and loan fraud to utility company fraud. The highest sub group was credit card fraud (23%).
http://blogs.zdnet.com/ITFacts/?p=14191
Posted by neighbor (anonymous) on October 7, 2008 at 5:19 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You are quoting data from a blog? Here's a little about the author of the blog;
Alex Moskalyuk is an engineer in a Silicon Valley startup firm. Moskalyuk, a linguistics graduate who speaks English, Russian, Ukrainian, German and French, began his career covering the technology field for the largest computer weekly in the Ukraine. The end of the dot-com boom prompted Alex to switch his focus from web technologies to semiconductors and statistical research. His interests eventually led him to the United States where he pursued a graduate degree in Computer Science from Eastern Washington University
In his spare time Moskalyuk runs websites that serve as useful tools for the tech community.
Intelligent individual I'm sure, but not one I would rely on for information.
My link may have been six year old, but the information remains valid and is part of the public record. In your previous links, they state that ID theft is often perpetrated by Organized crime elements(both here and abroad), by organized street and motorcycle gangs, by illegal immigrants, and by petty criminals. Last I knew, Lyon Co didn't have organized crime elements nor organized gangs, maybe a few posers and wannabes, but not the real deal. We do have immigrants and petty criminals here. I'd be willing to wager a meal that the person(s) involved in the cemetary ID thefts are a step or two above the petty criminal level.
Posted by create (anonymous) on October 8, 2008 at 1:38 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Neighbor, good information except for one thing. The Internet makes the world a very small place, and criminals from all over can come here with a flick of a few keys. Here's why I say this. I was scammed by a kid going to ESU and working part time at Walmart. He took my credit card # and made huge purchases at Eddie Bauer online. He used one of the public computer terminals at ESU White Library and was picking up the purchases at one of the homes being built at Park Place.
Luckily my credit card company fraud division caught it, notified me, and worked with Emporia Police to catch the kid in a sting operation using my card number. I wasn't even aware it had happened. The thing is this: This happened about 15 years ago before Wal Mart was sending card information electronically. Even back then, thieves were smart enough to rob you without you even knowing it. I wouldn't be so quick to say this is the work of petty criminals. You never know.
Posted by neighbor (anonymous) on October 8, 2008 at 4:33 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Glad they caught the kid, and I remember reading about that case create. I remember when crooks were rifling trash dumpsters for the carbons used in the old manual swipe credit card machines to get CC numbers and signatures to counterfeit. You were given the top copy, the carbon went to the trash unless you asked for it, and the hard copy went to the company. I had clerks that refused to give me the carbon until I threw a fit. I was not implying that this is the work of petty crooks. As I stated above, I predict they will be found to be a step or two above that level.
Posted by create (anonymous) on October 8, 2008 at 5:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)
At any rate, let's hope they can find these death notice crooks too. The Internet is so instant. The kid they captured in my case had to actually have a concrete address and a real bricks and mortar business (UPS) to do the delivering. I do know this, my daughter's neighbor in Chicago is a fraud investigator for VISA. They have had to become so sophisticated as a result of how sophisticated the crooks themselves are. In my case, it was fairly easy to detect that unusual purchases were being made because I didn't use my card very often. But just think if I were using my credit card to make purchases all the time, and at all kinds of merchants. The oddity of an Eddie Bauer in my life would probably not show up.
Posted by LifeGoesOn (anonymous) on October 8, 2008 at 8:46 p.m. (Suggest removal)
http://www.identitytheftfixes.com/identi...
a large number of identity theft crimes are committed by people who the victims knew. Many identity theft victims have been surprised to find out that the criminals who stole their identities were actually family, friends or coworkers.
http://identity.privacymatters.com/ident...
one recent case involved a waiter at a restaurant who would steal and sell copies of customer credit card receipts if that customer did not pay a good tip.
Employers have also been known to steal the identities of their employees, and there have also been a number of cases involving lawyers stealing the identities of their clients.
http://www.scambusters.org/identitytheft...
However, what you may NOT be aware of is that fully 50% of reported identity fraud is perpetrated by relatives, friends and neighbors, or acquaintances of the victim.
Three web sites, none seem to talk about "most" thefts being done by illegals.
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