Identity Theft News

Customers’ sensitive financial documents found dumped in trash HOUSTON—Hundreds of sensitive financial documents, apparently from customers of a west Houston motel, were dumped in the trash. The papers are filled with names, addresses, credit card numbers and more—everything an identity thief would want. Thankfully that’s not who made the discovery. Rosie Laughlin was just taking…

Florida Mental Health Patients Hit By ID Thefts The risk of identity theft every time you enter a health clinic is well documented. Medical identity theft has been estimated to cost the US over $7 billion annually but the odds jump up if you’re not quite able to watch your data—due to serious illness or…

Psychiatric patients’ IDs stolen by hospital worker, feds say Curtis Fullwood’s job was to help patients with mental health problems find work they could do in the South Florida State Hospital in Pembroke Pines, but instead, authorities say, he stole their identities. Fullwood, 57, and his cousin, Terri Davis, 45, have pleaded not guilty to…

Two men accused of using tax-preparing business for massive refund thefts Two South Florida men were ordered held without bond Monday after federal authorities said they have substantial evidence to link them to millions of dollars in income tax fraud and identity theft. Geto Dorlizier, 34, and Jourmel Thomas, 47, were arrested last week on…

Regulators and consumer advocates focus on senior identity theft Older consumers are no more vulnerable to identity theft than others, but they do tend to be victims of the types of ID theft that are on the rise — cases involving tax returns and medical care. For that reason, the Federal Trade Commission held a…

Tampa man sentenced for mail fraud, identity theft TAMPA – A Tampa man was sentenced to four years, three months in federal prison on Thursday after pleading guilty to mail fraud and aggravated identity theft. Nedal Faisal Ahmad, 35, must also pay $35,989, proceeds of the criminal conduct, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a…

Bipartisan Bill Would Hide Social Security Numbers to Block Identity Theft Florida congressman Republican Dennis Ross and congresswoman Democrat Kathy Castor teamed up on Thursday to introduce a bill mandating that Social Security numbers are truncated, limiting the number of visible digits. Both Ross and Castor insisted that this bill will help protect against identity…

Man agrees to identity theft plea in Vermont BRATTLEBORO, Vt. (AP) — A man in Vermont has agreed to plead guilty to stealing the identities of about two dozen people to collect unemployment insurance. Denny Ray Hughes was arrested in Vernon in March. He’s agreed to plead guilty to one count of wire fraud and…

Be smart when choosing PIN South Florida is the top U.S. metro area for identity theft and one way to avoid becoming a victim is to chose your PIN number wisely for financial accounts. Many depositors choose PIN numbers that are easy to remember — but also easy for identity thieves to guess, according to…

South Florida ID thief who testified to U.S. Senate strikes again After stealing the identities of several South Floridians — including a former owner of the New York Mets — Jeffrey Emil Groover made it seem like he was truly sorry for his crimes. He even testified to a U.S. Senate committee while he was…