WHAT TO DO ABOUT CELL PHONE ID THEFT?
In an April 22, 2020 article, Dallas County News an incident of cell phone identity theft in the West Burlington area. David Jameson, a West Burlington man and Walmart employee, is in jail after allegedly conspiring to commit identity theft and theft of $7,000 worth of cell phones from Walmart.
A Des Moines man named Timothy Anderson informed the West Burlington Police Department that someone had stolen his identity to purchase a phone plan. Anderson discovered the purchase when he received a bill for almost $200 from Verizon Wireless.
OSL is a contractor that partners with Walmart and wireless cell phone companies. The wireless cellphone company, Verizon Wireless in this instance, supplies the service, Walmart provides the cell phones, and OSL provides the salespeople with technical knowledge.
The West Burlington Police Department was able to identity Jameson as the employee who purportedly stole six phones. Jameson was one of the OSL contractors who was responsible for sales of cell phone services and cell phones. To purchase cell phone service, the customer must provide a photo ID, at which point a barcode number is assigned to the transaction and cell phone. Each transaction is tracked by the use of the salesperson’s identification number, a POS barcode, and an order number.
Court Records Related to Cell Phone ID Theft Charges
According to court documents, on December 27, Anderson’s personal information was provided to Jameson to purchase a service contract with Verizon Wireless. The identifying information was recorded on the contract. On that same receipt, another individual’s name, Jay Harbison, and personal information was used for another purchase of a separate Verizon Wireless contract.
According to court documents, a surveillance video shows a sales associate who sold the cell phone plans. The court documents also indicate two other men used the sales associate’s to commit cell phone identity theft. Four additional accounts were opened in the names of various individuals and four other phones were purchased by the two men. Allegedly, Jameson was the same clerk for all of the sales.
According to court documents, Jameson was charged with six counts of identity theft of less than $1,500. He is also charged with second-degree theft and conspiracy to commit a non-forcible felony. If convicted, Jameson will be sent to prison.
Are you a victim of identity theft? Are you being harassed for cell phone bills that do not belong to you?
What Should I Do If I Am A Victim of Identity Theft?
- Identity theft victims should review their credit reports for errors.
- If you find an error on your credit report, it should be disputed in writing, by certified mail, to each of the credit bureaus.
- If credit reporting agencies will not remove inaccurate information from your credit report after you have provided the required proof of inaccuracy, you may be able to file a lawsuit to recover compensation for any actual damages.
- File a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.