Identity Thief Attempts to Hide from Murder

In New York state, a man who had attempted
to hide his true identity by using another,
gets convicted for 300 years in prison in
the murder of a policemen.

According to Newsday, the murderer turned
identity theft criminal's story took a
strange turn:

"...he was arrested for the slaying of
New Hartford Police Officer Joseph Corr
after a million-dollar jewelry store
robbery in February 2006.

Davis was convicted in April of second-
degree murder under Healy's name. It was
not until just before sentencing that
authorities learned his true identity.

The real Healy reported his personal
information stolen in late 2005."

To illustrate how easy it is for dangerous
criminals to use someone else's legitimate
identity in avoiding an arrest, the story
continues:

"Several police witnesses testified that
Davis signed John Healy's name to several
fingerprint cards when his arrest was being
processed. Other witnesses recalled finding
two counterfeit driver's licenses in Davis'
pocket that indicated he was John Healy.

Hameline said it was also important to clear
the name of the real John Healy."

This story is one very crucial reminder to us all
of just how important it is to understand the dangers
of identity theft extend far beyond merely credit.

So, our tip for today is to guard against the potential
for false arrest and imprisonment due to the misdeeds
of an identity theft.

Get your public information profile checked out to insure
you have not already fallen victim to an identity thief
with an arrest in your name.

Failing to do so, could cost you your freedom or job
if not both.

Identity Theft Prevention & your Driving Record

Did you know the full impact an identity theft can
have on your driving record?

Since an identity thief can use your personal
information to obtain a driver's license in your name,
we recommend you should check your Department of Motor
Vehicles (DMV) file annually.

Here's why we urge you to take notice.

Driving records are state driver's license reports
containing details about a driver's history including
accidents, violations and suspensions.

Driving records can be obtained by insurance companies
to determine your rates as well as by companies during
their employment screening procedures when hiring.
Some employers may even require that you submit your
driving record along with your employment application.

A single typo on your driving record can cost you
hundreds of dollars in insurance rates. It can even
cost you a job.

Also, if an identity thief has impersonated you it
could ultimately cause your driving privileges to even
be suspended or subject you to an arrest.

For example, an imposter (the id thief) is cited by
the police for a speeding or some other misdemeanor
traffic violation and is released from the arrest. The
imposter signs the citation and promises to appear in
court. If the imposter does not appear in court the
judge can issue a bench warrant for the arrest of that
imposter.

Since the arrest warrant, however, is under YOUR name
you now are subject to being arrested and jailed for
the identity thief's traffic violations.

You, may not even know there's an outstanding arrest
warrant for you until an unexpected routine traffic
stop by the police results in you being taken to
county jail and booked.

Even though you're an innocent victim, guess what, you
have the added embarrassment, the court time, attorney fees,
& potential job loss to deal with while attempting
to clear your good name from the criminal records
system.

So, today's tip is we recommend for you to review your
own driving record report to verify its accuracy,
especially since an employer or insurance company may
access your driving record and use it to make
decisions that affect you livelihood. You wouldn't
want to lose your chance for a job or have your
insurance rates increase unfairly because of
inaccurate or false information on your driving record
report, right? Or, be forced to go to jail unfairly?

While you can choose to visit your local DMV office,
here's an on-line resource we found which points to
all fifty states request process. (select your state
from the drop down field located in the top center of
the page).

DMV Identity Theft Special Alert

A suburban Philadelphia town (Wilkes-Barre) department
of motor vehicles (dmv) office recently was the victim of
two stolen computers containing over 11,000 people's
confidential information.

Burgulars evidently broke into this DMV office last Tuesday
evening to steal the computers containing driver's license or
identification cards of customers whose photos had been
taken at this Wilkes-Barre center.

The highly sensitive information, in addition to the photos, stored on
the computers now listed as stolen included:

• Names
• Addresses
• Dates of birth (dob)
• Drivers license number
• Social Security Numbers (ssn)

With this type of information, criminals can easily produce fake
identification used to quickly conduct identity theft based
fraud such as opening new credit accounts with retailers who offer
"instant credit".

To the credit of the local DMV office, security breach letters were
mailed out this past Saturday offering free credit checks and
fraud alerts for your credit file.

So, our tip for today is for you or any associates you know may
have had their DMV photo taken during the timeframe of
Aug. 30th - Nov. 28th of this year.

Contact the DMV immediately to get further details on
the free credit check arrangements reserved for you. Also,
make sure to inquire with the local DMV office effected
(PennDOT Wilkes-Barre center) on getting a replacement
driver's license.

A toll-free hotline, 1-800-PENNDOT, has been setup to aid
the impacted identity theft victims.

Finally, because you are suffering from the loss of DMV data
(instead of just credit data), get your public information profile
(pip) checked out to guard against false arrest resulting from
fraudulent use of your personal information in traffic violations
or medical claims.

Identity Theft Prevention Tips Most Americans Don't Know

Half of America believes they are unlikely to
become identity theft victims, while even more
(70 percent) would take precautions if aware of
what to do.

These results were recently released from an
Experian, a leading credit bureau, survey
focused on consumer attitudes towards credit
fraud and identity theft.

Surprisingly, 1/3rd of Americans believe there
is "nothing they can do" to prevent identity
theft.

"It won't happen to me"

Think so. Then check out these facts revealed
by the survey:

• 63% had unauthorized purchases against their credit card
• 55% reported had money withdrawn from their checking account
• 39% experienced unauthorized account openings or fraud transactions
• 22% claimed someone obtained a new credit card in their name
• 9% reported someone opened a new bank account in their name

Identity theft victims will spend months, if not years, plus
thousands of dollars attempting to restore a damaged credit
record. In the meantime, you can be refused new loans, job
opportunities or worse as in the case of false arrest.

This is why it's much easier to put a much smaller amount
of energy and financial resources in knowing how identity
theft criminals operate and even better still - how to
increase your odds of preventing identity theft from
even happening to you.

So, our tip for today is to practice safe credit usage.
Enroll in a quality credit and bank account monitoring
service. Plus, now is a great time to get your medical
insurance file and public records profiles checked out
before the holiday season begins.

Remember, identity thieves know this is one of the easiest
times of the year for them to rip you off and to have the
evidence of their crimes be simply lost within the clutter
of holiday shopping fueled by far too available "instant"
credit from retailers eager to make sales.

Dad, I Stole Your Identity and Ruined Your Credit

Here's one gift you don't want for Father's Day!

A son fraudulently obtained more than $122,000
in credit as part of his identity theft crime spree
for over 1 year against his very own father.

The Rhode Island youth, a former participant on the "Wife Swap"
reality TV show, himself got a dose of real world justice when
he was arrested for identity theft and obtaining money under
false pretenses.

Unbelievably, the father only discovered the identity theft fraud
against his name when a credit card company contacted
him for payment on overdue balances.

The "real" tragedy in this story, is that a son would even commit
identity theft against his own father. Surprisingly, there's a
significant amount of identity theft which takes place whereby
the thief knows the victim.

In the case of the son, he took advantage of the fact he was a
"Jr." who shared the same first and last name as his
father.

Unfortunately, though, "Jr." now has a felony arrest on his record
and will most likely find it extremely difficult to ever get
credit or a decent job.

So, our tip for today, is to make sure your kids fully understand
identity theft is a serious crime. For parents, to further
protect yourself from the youthful indiscretion as Jr., it's
wise to take advantage of automatic credit monitoring as well
as opting out from pre-approved credit solicitations printed
in your name.

Finally, check out your driving record as well
to insure Jr. hasn't set you up for arrest warrants, too.