Archive for the ‘Violent Crime’ Category

ID Fraud Not Just A White Collar Crime

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

This chilling story from the New York Post reinforces the fact that identity theft  is not simply  a harmless white collar crime.

“A man charged in an identity theft scheme has been accused of killing two of his victims.

An indictment unsealed Thursday in federal court in Brooklyn charges Dmitriy Yakovlev in the murder of a missing Russian-language translator. He’s also accused of killing a man whose remains were found in New Jersey in 2006.

Yakovlev and his wife were already facing charges they used a credit card with the missing translator’s name to go on shopping sprees. Last year, the FBI searched the basement of the couple’s Brooklyn home for the victim’s body, but never reported finding anything.

The indictment added charges alleging Yakovlev also stole the identities of two men who disappeared in 2003 and 2005, and that he killed one of them.

There was no immediate response to a message left with Yakovlev’s attorney.”

This tragic story underscores the urgent need for each of us to become and  remain smaller targets for ID thieves.

“How do I become a smaller target” you ask?

You become a smaller target by establishing and maintaining your own financial literacy about safeguarding personal information. This ensures that you will be a smaller target for both the opportunistic  amateurs and the career criminals.

Make no mistake. The financial safety habits you develop now could literally save your life in the future.

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/prosecutors_identity_theft_victims_AITfK5UoqA0eBK29NhMotL#ixzz0hTWbDusQ

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The Killer Identity Theft App

Sunday, March 2nd, 2008

Think Id Theft is a “victimless” crime? Think Again!

In the years that I have searched for the telltale signs of “identity vulnerability”, I’ve often peeked into some rather innocuous and predictable places.

We don’t like to think of this crime as a gritty, true crime. After all, ID theft isn’t as bad as a typical violent TV crime-drama crime is it?

In fact, a little known reality is that the victims of identity often feel the same impact and violation as victims of violent crime.

Last week, an Illinois jury sentenced Eric Hanson to death for the murder of his parents, sister and brother in law. The four were found dead in an upscale home in the nearby city of Aurora.

In addition to first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and armed robbery, Hanson was found guilty of identity theft. He was accused of stealing $80,000 from his parents in a credit card fraud scheme.

Hanson’s killing rampage began when his sister informed the family that he had ripped them off for the money in the credit card scam.  Prosecutors claimed the convicted murderer and ID thief killed in a sick sad attempt to cover up his evil caper.

Statistics reveal that a large percentage of ID theft occurs within families. Scary eh?

Posted in Credit card fraud, Violent Crime | No Comments »