ID THEFT EPIDEMIC ACROSS THE SOUTH

Dozens of new identity theft cases are being reported across the South, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Texas and West Virginia have been especially hard hit.  Here are just a few recent identity theft news stories from across the South.

 Florida

 Identity Theft Led To Victim’s Arrest – WJXT Jacksonville – Terria Myrick spent a night in jail when she was accused of shoplifting at a Westside Walmart in a mistaken identity case because of identity theft. The charges against her have since been dropped, but she’s still upset about what happened in July. …

Ocala Officers Arrested In Identity Theft Scheme  – WESH Orlando – An Ocala police officer and several other people were arrested in an elaborate identity theft scheme, police said. Investigators said officer Dana Brown collected the personal information of about 149 drivers so that others in the scheme could open 184 …

ID thieves love South Florida – MSN Money – By Giselle Smith on Tue, Oct 25, 2011 6:17 PM For the past two years, Florida has led the US in the number of per-capita identity theft complaints, and the numbers are skyrocketing in South Florida, according to the Sun Sentinel. …

Real ID law gaining some real opposition – MiamiHerald.com – Evers had come face-to-face with the federal Real ID law, which Florida enacted in 2010 to combat identity theft  and prevent illegal immigrants and terrorists from getting official state ID cards. Now Evers, a Republican state senator from Crestview, …

 Georgia

 Emory moves to protect thousands from possible ID theft, fraud WXIA-TV – ATLANTA – Emory University began taking action Tuesday, as more than 7300 patients in its orthopedic and spinal clinic face the possibility of identity theft and fraud stemming from a breach in 2008. Officials said thousands of printed patient records. . .

Emory Warns Patients Of ID Theft – GPB – By Joshua Stewart Nine of the 32 Emory patients whose personal information was found in an April bust of a Duluth identity-theft ring say they have been victims of fraud. Emory officials tracked the data breach to a single employee, who has since been …

Dozens of theft charges added against Macon woman – Macon Telegraph (blog) – By AMY LEIGH WOMACK -A Macon woman initially arrested this summer in connection with an alleged identity theft and tax return fraud ring has been charged with an additional 45 counts of identify fraud and 45 counts of theft by …

 North Carolina

Fayetteville woman faces fraud, ID theft charges –  WRAL.com –  Fayetteville, NC — Police said Wednesday that they have charged a 60-year-old Fayetteville woman with 30 counts of fraud, forgery and identity theft. Investigators searched Priscilla Englund’s home on Oakwood Street and found counterfeit checks and …

 Free Shred-A-Thons Held Across The State, Saturday – WFMY News 2 – Raleigh, NC — Residents are invited to protect themselves from identity theft by shredding old documents that include personal information, at 10 different shred-a-thons across the state on Saturday. The shred-a-thons will be held in Asheville, Apex, …

 Texas

 Personal finance: Children more vulnerable than adults to ID theft – Fort Worth Star Telegram

Mobile devices are new frontier for identity theft – Fort Worth Star Telegram – “Consumers don’t seem to be so concerned, but privacy advocates like us are seeing big risks for exposure of personal information,” said Nikki Junker, social media coordinator for the Identity Theft Resource Center, also based in San Diego. …

 West Virginia

 Tennant Joins Fight Against Business IdentityTheft – WVNS – That’s why West Virginia Secretary of State Natalie Tennant attended a meeting in Atlanta Oct. 17 and 18 where other secretaries of state discussed business identity theft. Expert panelists talked about ways to assist officials who oversee state …