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CRIME: Identity theft is rampant in
Ridgefield
Sep 6, 2006
It�s complex, tough-to-fight, and it�s rampant in Ridgefield.
Identity theft has become the fastest-growing crime in town,
Ridgefield Police Captain Stephen Brown said last week.
�Over the
last three years it�s increased,� he said. �Identity theft
represents the greatest rise in complaints we�ve seen.�
Identity
theft is no longer about simply stealing credit cards, he said,
although that happens.
For
8 ways to avoid identity theft, see this week's Press.
| More dangerous are sophisticated
criminals whose victims may remain unsuspecting for months or even
years. Once thieves get hold of a victim�s personal identifying
information, they can wreak credit havoc with it. If they readdress
the credit card bills to a fake address, the victim doesn�t even
know he has been victimized.
Hundreds of thousands
�The
detective bureau has worked on a few that run into the hundreds of
thousands of dollars in Ridgefield,� Captain Brown said. �These are
cases where phony accounts have been set up in someone�s name. The
criminals who will do this will try it over and over in many
forms.�
Identity theft has become such a problem that it is
changing the way law enforcement operates, he said.
�We
have to be more technologically savvy, and these types of crimes
require more cooperation between law enforcement agencies and
between businesses and law enforcement agencies,� he said.
�The
solvability rate on identity theft is not high,� he said. �They can
commit these crimes from a distance and many times do it
anonymously. Especially with technology being what it is today, a
criminal doesn�t have to come to Ridgefield to victimize a
Ridgefielder. Or they could steal someone�s mail here and go out of
state or even out of the country to open an account.�
To get a
victim�s identifying information, criminals often take homeowners�
trash or steal mail directly from the mailbox, Captain Brown said.
There are also thieves who specialize in what has been dubbed
�Dumpster diving,� he said.
The
best protection
The best protection is to shred all
mail with identifying information, Captain Brown said. He cautioned
that pre-approved credit cards often contain enough information for
an identity thief to use, so they should be shredded instead of
trashed intact.
Brent DiGiorgio of People�s Bank agreed.
�Shredders are so important these days,� he said. �Shred your
personal information and protect yourself that way.�
The problem
of identity theft is plaguing banks and credit card companies
nationally, not just in Ridgefield, Mr. DiGiorgio said. �It�s the
fastest growing crime in the nation,� he said.
�You need to be
vigilant about maintaining your records and your personal
information,� he said. �One crime I�ve heard of most frequently is
you�re getting a credit card statement every month, and then one
month you don�t get it and then the next, and the person may have
stolen your card and changed the address.�
Identity theft can be
a huge problem for the victim when it is eventually detected, he
said. �There are so many ramifications � it can take years to
restore your good credit and your good name.�
For banks and
credit card agencies, the best protection against identity thieves
is an education, he said. �If we can educate and warn our customers
about how their identity may be stolen, that�s the best we can do,�
he said. �The old slogan �forewarned is forearmed� is so
applicable.�
�Everyone is
vulnerable�
Captain Brown said the Ridgefield police
have had complaints about several kinds of identity theft.
�We
get calls from people who say they were asked to give some
identifying information over the phone or over the Internet,� he
said. �Some criminals will take mail out of mailboxes or Dumpsters.
Outgoing mail should be put in a post office collection box, rather
than being left in the mailbox with the flag up.�
He said
identity thieves don�t discriminate or prey particularly on the
elderly, which is a common misconception. �Judging by the complaints
we receive, everyone is vulnerable,� he said.
The thefts can be
small unauthorized charges that appear on a credit card, or they can
be very large, he said.
There have been a handful of six-figure
thefts in Ridgefield, he said. �Those are more rare,� he said. �I
think there have been under five since 2003.�
He said one case in
Ridgefield required the help of the Federal Bureau of Investigation,
which usually does not handle cases that do not involve a loss of at
least half a million dollars.
� Copyright by
Hersam Acorn
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