Archive for the ‘Fraud’ Category

A High Value ID Theft Target

Friday, October 1st, 2010

During a recent celebration,  I opened a gift that made me smile.  It was the new Robin Hood film starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett.

We all know the premise.  Robin Hood takes from the rich and gives to the poor. Unfortunately, not all thieves are so noble. Please read on.

The Orange County Business Journal and Forbes Magazine blogger Mark Lacter recently reported on a modern story based on the classic tale of a wealthy land owner who falls prey to a dastardly thief.  In this case, the alleged crook  Moundir Kamil, decided to keep $1.4 million in loot for himself after commandeering  a large IRS tax refund check. The wealthy land owner in our modern tale is billionaire California real estate mogul Donald Bren.

According to the Orange County Business Journal:

“News of the bizarre theft went on to get national exposure as questions arose about how a 40-something suspect—who listed his occupation merely as “smoke shop” operator and looks nothing like the 78-year-old Bren—could make off with the identity and money of OC’s most prominent businessman. The refund check Kamil allegedly stole was the result of overpayment of estimated quarterly taxes by Bren. When and how the suspect managed to get the check wasn’t stated in the initial complaint, nor is it mentioned in the government’s updated charges for Kamil.”

Although authorities have not disclosed how Kamil came into posession of the check, it is clear that he was somehow able to pass himself off as the victim. Not only did he deposit the loot into a newly opened bank account, he withdrew most of it before being captured.

Thanks to an eagle-eyed prison guard who recognized surveillance photos of the culprit, the fraudster’s identity was uncovered. It seems that Kamil had previously been caught stealing from the rich.  He is not just a disappointment to Robin Hood fans, worldwide.  The parole board has to be a little embarrased and disappointed to have released a 9 time bank robber back into the general population in Sherwood Forest.


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Posted in Check scams, Financial Scams, Fraud | 1 Comment »

A Pulitzer Winner’s Identity Theft Threat

Tuesday, September 7th, 2010

You don’t have to be a Pulitzer Prize winning playwright to be a victim of identity theft, but there is clearly no immunity for brilliant writers either.

Educated at Brown University and the Yale School of Drama, Pulitzer winner Lynn Nottage was awakened in the early morning hours, to a flurry of alarming phone calls from concerned family and friends.

According to a report in the Brooklyn Eagle:

“Less than an hour before the call, someone hacked into Nottage’s three e-mail and Facebook accounts, sending out a cry for help after allegedly being mugged in a United Kingdom park. The e-mail blast, which said Nottage was writing “with tears in my eyes,” went out to every listserv she was on, totaling thousands of people, Nottage estimated.

This story resonates with me because our family got similar calls this past summer, from someone claiming that our son had been involved in an accident in Europe. The caller pleaded for money to be wired via Western Union.

Because our son had been to Europe just weeks earlier with a concert choir, our family members called us to make sure he was okay.  One particularly loving (but vulnerable) family member actually withdrew a very large sum of cash to wire overseas and thankfully called us prior to sending the money.

Commonly known as the “grandparents scam”, predators depend on friends and family (often grandpa and grandma) to take the bait and send the money immediately. Sadly, many do just that.

One of the more unsettling questions in our family’s case was how did these well organized criminals obtain details about our son’s travels, as well as  his contact information back at home. Scary question eh?

In another case reported by consumeraffairs.com:

The con man who convinced Edward and Irene Kellerman of Fairlawn, Ohio, that he was their beloved grandson Brian is still on the run. They wired him $3,000.

“It was the perfect set up and these people knew exactly what they were doing,” says Edward Kellerman.

The detective on the Kellerman case, Dave Zampelli, was able to track the con to Canada where he retrieved the wire transfer records and a fake id with Brian Kellerman’s name on it.

“They’re very organized. They know what they’re doing. They’re cons. They’re smooth talkers and daily they ‘re persuading victims to wire them money,” Zampelli said.

Are you curious to know which of your friends and loved ones would actually help you in your time of need? This is not the way to find out.

Posted in Financial Scams, Fraud | No Comments »