Lookout for identity thief in at least $3,000 in unauthorized purchases across South Florida
Lookout for identity thief in at least $3,000 in unauthorized purchases across South Florida
Coral Springs and Sunrise police are looking for a woman in connection with identity theft and at least $3,000 in unauthorized purchases.
Caught on surveillance video, the woman opened a store credit card to make a purchase, using someone else’s identity. The video was shot July 24 at a Kohl’s store inside Coral Square Mall in Coral Springs.
It shows the woman shopping for clothes and then arriving at the cashier’s desk to check out, where cameras clearly captured her face.
Lt. Joe McHugh, spokesman for the Coral Springs police department, said that store employees recognized the woman from other theft-related incidents at the same store, but before they could act, she got into a car and drove away.
“The cashier knew something wasn’t right. The driver’s license looked fake, which it was,” McHugh said. “We think she had a getaway driver waiting outside and then drove off.”
According to Coral Springs and Sunrise police, the same woman is connected to other thefts and attempted thefts, using the personal information of the same victim to open store credit cards and extend the credit of existing accounts.
Sunrise police are also connecting the woman to an incident at a Target Super Store in Sunrise, where a credit application raised red flags, said Officer Cindi McCue, spokeswoman for the agency.
The victim’s husband, who says he works as a law enforcement detective and wishes to remain unnamed, said the thefts extend to many other stores, including Best Buy, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Walmart, Macy’s and Victoria’s Secret.
He says his wife’s information was also used to file taxes but hadn’t been used by the thieves to make purchases until recently.
“These people keep the information dormant, and wait and then do it again—this is what many victims don’t realize,” he said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Coral Springs police department at 954-356-1773 or the Sunrise police department at 954-746-3624.
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