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

Mobile, Alabama – Suspect sought in identity theft case
al.com (blog) – ID Theft – In this surveillance photo, a suspect is seen cashing a fake check at the McGregor Square branch of PNC Bank around noon on June 5. She is suspected of using a stolen identity to cash 6 more checks at branches in …

Mobile, Alabama – Identity Theft Suspect; Do You Recognize Her?
WKRG-TV – The Alabama Bureau of Investigation (ABI) is investigating a theft case involving a female suspect. Investigators say between June 1 and June 5 she went to six different PNC Banks in Baldwin and Mobile Counties and cashed checks totaling in excess of …

Florida

Longboat Key, Florida – Sarasota Memorial employee uses dead patient’s identity
Longboat Key News – Nunn was arrested Wednesday on a warrant and has been charged with Identity Theft and seven counts of Credit Card Fraud. Tags: Credit Card Fraud, Identity Theft, Margaret Nunn, Sarasota Memorial, Sarasota Memorial Hospital, SMH · Longboat Key News …

Naples, Florida – Keep Your Identity: Service members just as vulnerable to identity theft as the …
Naples Daily News – In recent years our country’s military personnel have joined the ranks of those who are considered most vulnerable to identity theft. Transferred to one location from another and deployed in parts of the world for extended assignments, servicemen and women …

Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia – Identity fraud cases show significant increases
Atlanta Journal Constitution – Reported offenses doubled in Cobb and Fulton counties and increased 31.5 percent in Gwinnett County. A Federal Trade Commission report released earlier this year ranked Georgia No. 2 in the country for identity theft complaints in 2011. Some authorities …

Lowndes, Georgia – Two Arrested in Lowndes County for Drugs, Identity Theft
WCTV-The investigators have been recently working on a large number of identity theft cases all associated with fraudulent income tax filings. During the execution of these warrants, investigators recovered several vehicles, items of property, approximately thirty-five …

Valdosta, Georgia – Georgia woman accused of identity theft
Sacramento Bee — Lowndes County Sheriff Chris Prine says a Valdosta woman has been arrested on multiple counts of identity theft. Prine said 27-year-old Belinda Renee Harris was arrested Monday

North Carolina

Concord, North Carolina – Concord Woman Convicted of Identity Theft
Patch.com – Generose Yambao, 32, of Concord, was sentenced to eight years in prison after she pled no contest to 15 counts of identity theft, second degree burglary, and attempted grand theft. Under the new state criminal sentencing guidelines, she will serve her …

Oklahoma

Sex Offenders Resort To ID Theft To Skirt Laws, Study Says
news9.com KWTV – With restrictions on where they can live, some say offenders are resorting to identity theft. “The things you have to deal with as an offender are basically difficult,” said Bradley Crawford. Crawford knows firsthand. For more than a decade he has registered as a …

Tulsa, Oklahoma – Thwarting identity theft means not letting your guard down on vacation
Tulsa World – What should I do to protect myself from identity theft while I’m gone? It can be easy to let down your guard while you’re away. Here are six ways to protect yourself against ID theft while on vacation this summer: Notify your bank and credit card company that …

Tennessee

Knoxville, Tennessee – ID theft getting ironed out for victim living in public housing
WATE-TV – Earlier in July, Josh was told he could lose his apartment because Social Security records show that Joshua Lilly made over $24000 last year. That makes the real Joshua Lilly ineligible for public housing. “I said this is identity fraud. This is identity theft. This is …

Cordova, Tennessee – Good Samaritan allegedly falls victim to identity theft
WMC-TV – Police say a Good Samaritan’s kindness gave an identity thief the chance to rack up nearly $850 of fraudulent charges on her credit cards last week. Officers say the victim let a strange woman, later identified as Tina Shirah, into her home in the …

TEXAS

Fort Worth, Texas – Ex-RadioShack worker gets prison for ID theft
Sacramento Bee – A former RadioShack Corp. call center worker has been sentenced to more than six years in prison for identity theft. Prosecutors in North Texas say Youlanda Rochelle Wright used the information to file false income tax returns and …

Fort Worth, Texas – Former Radio Shack employee sentenced for ID theft conviction
Fort Worth Star Telegram – U.S. District Judge Terry Means sentenced Wright Monday to 78 months after she had pleaded guilty to charges of false claims against the United States and identity theft in December. Wright, who had been on pretrial release, was taken into custody earlier …

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 FCRA attorney Micah Adkins 24/7 at 1-800-263-9091 for a free case review or use the form below.

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