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. The credit reporting agencies must block fraudulent information from appearing in a credit file after receipt of an identity theft report.

Here are some of the identity theft stories we are following in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and across the country.

Arkansas

AC man arrested for ID theft Winfield Daily Courier Online. An ACPD investigation on Friday linked the identity theft to a suspect, identified as Mendoza, who allegedly used Martinez’ identity to “gain employment with a local plant in Arkansas City.” The plant was not identified in the release. Mendoza will be …

Florida

Bonita Springs, Florida – Florida woman accused in rash of identity theft crimes in Milford New Haven Register. Investigators recovered several stolen drivers licenses and credit cards alleged to have been used in for identity theft by Shannon Truax, 41, of Bonita Springs, Fl. Police located three victims and applied for arrest warrants. Truax is charged with …

Tallahassee, Florida – Remaining Two Defendants Sentenced in ID Theft Tax Refund Scheme WCTV. The crimes of identity theft and identity fraud are particularly harmful because, in many cases, citizens are victimized twice – first, when their identity is stolen and used to fraudulently obtain tax refund monies in their name, and second, when the …

Tampa, Florida – Lawyer sentenced for wire fraud in Pinellas corporate ID theft Bizjournals.com. Houston lawyer Roger Shoss was sentenced to 18 months in prison and 36 months of home confinement for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a corporate identity theft scam. Shoss was convicted of stealing the identities of dormant, publicly traded …

Hernando County, Florida – Woman arrested in ID theft Bay News 9. One incident occurred in Pasco County, the other in Hillsborough County. Colon was transported to the Hernando County detention center where she is being charged with one count of organized scheme to defraud and one count of identity theft. Her bond is …

Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia – ID theft scoring billions in tax refunds Atlanta Journal Constitution (blog). A new report from Uncle Sam shows that the feds are wrongly paying out billions in tax refunds each year because of identity theft; even worse, the Internal Revenue Service doesn’t have the power to look at certain documents that could stem some of …

Atlanta, Georgia Sheriff: Man stole doctor’s ID, saw 500 patients Atlanta Journal Constitution. 24, 2012 for identity theft and practicing medicine without a license. When Addo’s friend went to Africa for a year, he assumed his buddy’s identity, all the way down to the man’s medical license. Authorities said Addo saw up to 500 patients at five …

Kentucky

Frankfort, Kentucky – Program teaches senior citizens about scam artists Sacramento Bee. The attorney general’s office will be sponsoring Senior Crime College programs across the state in coming weeks to teach the elderly to protect themselves against fraud, identity theft and a variety of scams. Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway said …

Oklahoma

Tulsa, Oklahoma Background report screener settles Fair Credit Reporting Act claim UPI.com. In a complaint filed Wednesday, the federal government alleged HireRight Solutions Inc., based in Tulsa, Okla., violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by not to comply with the act’s provisions that ensure the accuracy of background reports about …

Texas

Austin, Texas – Alleged ID thief pleads not guilty Austin Herald. Carmen Lazaro-Cacari, 25, pleaded not guilty Thursday to felony forgery for false identification and misdemeanor identity theft. A police inquiry from Texas originally revealed that a woman living in Austin, Minn., was allegedly using another’s …

Tennessee

Jackson, Tennessee – Our View: New state identity theft effort helps consumers Jackson Sun. Much of today’s identity theft takes place in the wires and computer databases accessible over the Internet. With only a few special numbers such as a Social Security number and driver’s license number, online crooks can access everything from credit …

Virginia

Program educates seniors about fraud, identity theft. Northern Virginia Daily In an effort to help area seniors not become victims of scams or identity theft, Home Instead Senior Care has launched a public information program to educate seniors and their families on how to protect themselves and their livelihood. “It’s just …

Virginia Beach, Virginia Va. Beach man accused of rape convicted in ID theft The Virginian-Pilot. In a police photo lineup, the woman identified her rapist as Lawrence Anthony Norfleet, a black 57-year-old convicted sex offender, who officers charged with rape, forcible sodomy and identity theft to avoid arrest. The third charge accuses Norfleet of …

National News

Readers’ Tips for Medicare Cards– Wall Street Journal

Q: I have been complaining for some time about the fact that my Social Security number is on my Medicare card, and the system absolutely doesn’t seem to care [about the risk this poses for identity theft, which has been the subject of recent columns in. . .

Deputies continue to unravel large identity theft, burglary case – San Jose Mercury News SANTA CRUZ – Sheriff’s investigators got numerous calls Friday from theft victims seeking stolen property after the Sheriff’s Office Thursday announced the bust of an identity theft and burglary ring that claimed more than 30 victims. One man called …

The IRS Takes On Identity Thieves – Wall Street Journal

If your information is stolen, you may get one of two early-warning signs of identity theft: The IRS might mail you a notice that says you failed to report wages from a company for which you never worked, or a notice that says your return was rejected …

FTC Offers Advice on How to Avoid and Protect Against Identity Theft Newstar Media FTC Offers Advice on How to Avoid and Protect Against identity theft. For many Americans the fear of identity theft is a real concern. Yet many are unclear of the best ways to avoid or protect against identity theft. In fact, statistics show that every …

Have you been a victim of identity theft? 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.

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