ID THEFT NEWS: WEEKLY UPDATE

We represent victims of identity theft across the country. Identity theft is an epidemic, especially in the South. Few identity thieves are arrested and convicted. What can consumers do to protect their credit reports and their reputation?

Federal law provides identity theft victims with rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Under federal law, identity theft victims have a right to two free credit reports every 12 months. Also, identity theft victims can place a fraud alert on their credit file. Like victims of credit report errors, identity theft victims have the right to dispute fraudulent credit report information, such as accounts, name variations, public records and addresses.

Here are some of the identity theft stories we are following:

Alabama

Troy, AL – Troy woman indicted for patient identity theft
Troy Messenger – A Troy Alabama woman has been indicted on 22 counts related to identity theft. Angeline Austin, 41, is accused of taking 880 names, Social Security numbers and dates …

Arkansas

Identity thieves reach into local accounts
Paragould Daily Press – The bureau’s data suggests about 7 percent of all adults have their identities misused with each instance resulting in about $3500 in losses and Greene County residents have fallen victim to identity theft as well. First National Bank vice president …

Florida

Jacksonville, FL – Several sentenced in ID theft, IRS fraud; Orange Park man the leader
Florida Times-Union – A 33-year-old used car salesman from Orange Park and several cohorts were sentenced in federal court this week including millions in restitution for fraud.

Lakeland, FL – Sheriff’s Office: Elderly Are Vulnerable To Identify Theft Scams
The Ledger – By Matthew Pleasant Polk County deputies, who had seized the phone as evidence in an identity theft investigation, say it held text messages with names, birth dates and Social Security numbers of 81 people. Investigators accuse Wilkinson of using the …

Miami, FL – Fla. man gets prison for stealing Pa. soldier’s ID
MiamiHerald.com – Fla. man gets prison for stealing Pa. soldier’s ID … Fla., was charged by federal prosecutors in Pittsburgh and pleaded guilty last year to one count of identity theft.

Palm Beach/South Fl – Seniors: Beware of con artists targeting you
Sun-Sentinel – South Florida seniors: Take extra precautions because you are prime targets for scams, identity theft and other schemes, according to a Monday fraud …

Tampa, FL – Police tie identity thefts to ‘Felony Lane’ ring
Tbo.com – Investigators believe two people arrested last week in a stolen-identity scheme are part of a widespread criminal organization.

Georgia

ALPHARETTA, Ga  Stolen information leads to identity theft
NorthFulton.com – With tax day recently gone by, many citizens tried to file their taxes only to find someone else had beaten them to the punch (and pocketed.

Atlanta, GA – Decatur man accused of stealing thousands of identities
WGCL Atlanta Georgia – Identity theft for its victims is a devastating crime. … Identity theft victim Marcus Johnson, who was not defrauded by Chavo, told CBS Atlanta the results of this …

Kentucky

Highland Heights, KY – Former police chief accused of wire fraud, identify theft | News
FOX19 – Carl Mullen, the former chief of Highland Heights, was arrested Friday for wire fraud and identity theft. He appeared in court on Monday, where he was released

Louisiana

Baton Rouge  2 Russians accused of ID theft for smartphone buys
Wall Street Journal – Gulnara Rothwell, also known as Gulnara Bagautdinova, and Olga Neye, also known as Olga Maltseva, each is charged with aggravated identity theft and conspiracy to get and use false identification, US Attorney Donald Cazayoux Jr. said Tuesday.

South Carolina

Spartanburg, SC – Robbery Victim Now Fighting Identity Theft
News Channel 7 – Roger Thompson says he also lost his entire wallet, making his family the possible victims of a second crime: identity theft. “But I lost a lot, like my birth certificate,” said Thompson. “That can’t be replaced.” 7 On Your Side found out when someone …

Virginia

Norfolk – Norfolk man sentenced for identity theft
The Virginian-Pilot – In March, Cooper, 56, pleaded guilty to theft of government property and aggravated identity theft. For more details, return to PilotOnline.com later and read tomorrow’s Virginian-Pilot. William George Cooper was sentenced to six years and two months

Are you a victim of identity theft? Have you disputed  credit report errors to the nationwide credit bureaus and the fraudulent information was verified? Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), consumers have the right to dispute credit report errors. The credit reporting agencies must block information from appearing in your credit report that is the result of identity theft. The credit bureaus must block the information within 4 business days of receipt of an identity theft report. Under the FCRA, you have the right to sue the credit bureaus if they fail to perform a reasonable investigation or refuse to investigate your credit report disputes.

Contact us 24/7 at 1-800-263-9091 for a free case review.

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