4 charged in alleged JoCo check-forgery ring

Four people have been charged with conspiracy to commit identity fraud after they allegedly rented a hotel room and printed off counterfeit checks, the JoCo DA's office reports. Those charged include Lyndsay Elizabeth Manville, Shelley Auburn Pellegrino, Brian Donald Mamerow and Paul David Torres .

ID thieves target families of servicemen and women

A ring of identity thieves have been posing as Red Cross employee and calling military families to tell them their loved ones have died overseas, The AP reports. The servicemen and women are OK, it's just a scam to get Social Security numbers and other info out of their families.

Worst. Roomate. Ever.

From the New York Daily News:
"As his unconscious roommate was having his leg amputated after an accident, Anthony Giordano tricked hospital staff into handing over the patient's wallet --- and went on a $22,000 spending spree."
Giordano got credit cards in his roomie's name, spent his money on strippers and a new Jeep, and didn't get caught until after he moved out the following year.

Latest victim of ID theft: Herman Munster

Great story about identity thieves who tried to sell the personal data of one Herman Munster, 1313 Mocking Bird Lane. A security firm monitored the chatroom conversation and told the story to AP. The working theory is that a TV fan deliberately gave the bad info to the thieves, who operate overseas and don't get Nick At Nite.

(I can't imagine Herman has really good credit. Have you seen his ride?)

Victim of ID theft hunts down dirtbag who stole her life

Excellent story about a California woman who lost $30K after someone stole her identity theft and made her life a living hell. Unlike most of these cases, this one ended in a foot chase through the streets of San Francisco and the bad guy getting arrested.

Turns out the victim and the suspect were both at the same Starbucks on the same morning. The victim recognized the suspect's coat from a surveillance camera photo.

Hat Tip to a reader who requested anonymity -- Many thanks, friend!

Info on credit-monitoring and identity theft

Paul Wenske has a good roundup this morning on the different credit-monitoring services that help people fight identity theft.

Baby's First Identity Theft?

From The Star: A box containing about 80 enrollment forms with personal information for next year’s kindergarten pupils at Clear Creek Elementary School in Shawnee was stolen from the school last week.

The box also contained personal checks for enrollment fees and the school’s complete list of new kindergarteners. Alvie Cater, De Soto School District spokesman, said officials have contacted some parents who enrolled kindergarten students, but because the list with all of the names was taken, not all parents have been contacted. District officials are asking parents of new kindergarteners who enrolled their children April 17 to contact the school at (913) 422-8700.

Not so smooth

Astroglide's customer list accidentally gets leaked to the Internet. (Hat Tip to Shultz)

KCK man accused of identity theft

Last week, a Missouri trooper stopped David Fletcher, 41, of KCK, on U.S. 71 near Carthage, Mo. Fletcher aroused suspicion when he allegedly produced not one driver's license, but three, plus two Social Security cards. A search turned up nine more licenses on his person and 56 in the vehicle. He's been charged with trafficking in stolen identities.

No charges in identity theft, Internet harassment

A Pittsburg State employee says one of her former coworkers stole her personal info, including her social, and made it so companies sent her a flood of spam, credit-card applications and porn, the Joplin Globe reports. But there won't be any charges -- the prosecutor says there's not a law that specifically applies here.

Circus tix trip up accused card thief

Dawn L. Brooks, 32, Kansas City, accused of credit card theft and allegedly pictured on several Northland store videos, has been arrested. From Kansas City police:

• Ms. Brooks was arrested this weekend at an area circus by investigating detectives, when they discovered that a recent stolen credit card was used to purchase tickets to that event.

Waitress gets own ID carding patron

WESTLAKE, Ohio (AP) - A bar waitress checking to see if a woman was legally old enough to drink was handed her own stolen driver's license, which was reported missing weeks earlier, police said.
"The odds of this waitress recovering her own license defy calculation," police Capt. Guy Turner said Monday.
Maria Bergan, 23, of Lakewood, was charged Sunday night with identity theft and receiving stolen property. She was arrested at her home in suburban Cleveland and was jailed in Westlake to await a court appearance.
The 22-year-old waitress, whose name was not released, called police last week and said she had been handed her own stolen driver's license by a woman trying to prove she was 21. The woman, who became suspicious of the delay as the waitress went to call police, fled the Moosehead Saloon, but her companion provided her name.
The waitress said she had lost her wallet July 9 at a bar in Lakewood.
The victim also had a credit card stolen. The stolen card has been used to make $1,000 in purchases, Turner said.

Hat tip to reader *****!

180,000 millionaires, 30 IRS audits?

Expect a response from the IRS if this gets any play:

• New data from the IRS reports that only 30 of the nation's 180,000 plus millionaires were subject to face-to-face audits in FY 2005. Analysis by Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) also shows that when only traditional face-to-face audits are considered, those reporting less than $25,000 in total positive income were six times more likely to be audited than all those reporting $200,000 or more in income. IRS continues to withhold from TRAC statistical data it has made public in the past that might explain the aberration.

I know both TRAC founders:

• David Burnham was the NYTimes reporter whistleblower Karen Silkwood was going to see when she died in a traffic accident.
• Susan B. Long and her husband sued the IRS for its "audit triggers" when they were audited in the 1970s. The Supreme Court said you can't have 'em, but you can have tons of other IRS and federal agency data. Thus TRAC was born.

And here's the IRS response, via the above TRAC co-directors, 4:13 p.m.:

• After TRAC's report on the government's audit of millionaires was posted this morning, the IRS contacted TRAC and informed us that its official numbers were not correct. In an effort to understand the reasons for this error, TRAC has requested additional information from the IRS. A follow up report will be posted if it is warranted.

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Man sentenced for stealing brother's ID

From the  U.S. Attorney, 1:44 p.m.:

   KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Todd P. Graves, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a former Independence, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for stealing his brother’s identity in order to make more than $55,000 in purchases.
   Lawrence Stuart Tuttle, 49, formerly of Independence, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Dean Whipple this morning to five years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Tuttle to pay $46,425 in restitution. Graves noted that today’s sentence marks an upward departure from the federal sentencing guidelines, which recommend a sentencing range of 30 to 37 months.

Full press release