Posts by Sean Fredricks

Two North Miami residents arrested on identity theft charges Two men in North Miami have been arrested in connection with a scheme to steal the identities of several people, including some Miami-Dade County public school students, according to federal court records. The suspects also were accused of filing false income tax returns, using the names…

Document Shredding: When Employees Are the Problem In-house paper shredders may seem like a solid investment for offices that generate a decent amount of paper that needs regular destruction, but what businesses fail to realize is that office shredders come with a unique set of challenges that can pose as a major detriment on many…

States with the most identity theft complaints In 2014, data theft reached record levels. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, there were 783 data breaches last year, a substantial increase from both the previous year and the previous 2010 peak. In addition, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recorded 332,646 identity theft complaints in 2014,…

Florida prison guard sentenced in Chicago for inmate ID theft scheme A former Florida prison guard was sentenced in a Chicago courtroom Thursday for stealing the identities of more than 50 inmates and using them to get illegal tax refunds through an accomplice in Illinois. Cornelius Crumity of Pembroke Pines, Fla., defrauded the IRS out…

Tax Season Is Over, So When Should You Shred Your Old Documents? Now that another tax season is behind us, it’s a good time to think about what to do with your old tax records. Personal tax documents greatly differ from business ones, so it’s imperative for business owners to know how long to hang…

Getting Greener With Paper Shredding There’s a lot of talk about green these days. Almost in every industry, you’ll find a “green” version of a product, promising a gentler impact on the environment, toting eco-responsibility, and sometimes, it can save you money. When it comes to business, it’s all about energy efficiency and reducing paper…

Consumer Watch: More tips on how to avoid ID theft Several readers have asked for more information about protecting themselves from identity theft. As I’m speaking to the Scenic City Friends next week about ID theft/fraud, it seems an ideal time to piggyback on last week’s column with some expanded info. According to Senior Digest…

Chipley woman among 2 pleading guilty to tax scam PANAMA CITY — Two people involved in a tax fraud scheme using identities stolen from patients in a Bonifay assisted living home have admitted to 31 federal charges of wire fraud and identity theft. Jermaine Winters, 39 of Coleman, and Rosetta Presley, 22, of Chipley, pleaded…

Why You Should Hire a Professional Document Shredding Company This Tax Season With tax season coming to a close, it’s time to think about the Spring Cleaning of your confidential documents. Typically, it’s good business process to hang onto old tax records, but how long you keep them differs for businesses versus personal income tax…

Two PB men convicted of $700,000 ID theft, fraud Two Palm Beach County men have been convicted of taking part in an identity theft conspiracy involving more than 1,000 fraudulent income tax returns, yielding about $700,000 in refunds, federal prosecutors announced Friday. Lukner Blanc, 31, of Royal Palm Beach, and Benoit Placide, also known as…