Gov't charges 3 men in massive identity fraud

[sydnie]

U.S. charges three in massive identity
fraud


Reuters / November 26, 2002

NEW YORK -- U.S. authorities charged three men with orchestrating the largest identity theft
scheme in U.S. history, a scam that "picked the pockets" of thousands of consumers to steal
millions of dollars.

Announcing the arrests on Monday, Manhattan U.S. Attorney James Comey said more than
30,000 consumers across the United States were affected. Authorities pegged losses at
$2.7 million, which Comey said could rise as the investigation unfolds.

"With a few keystrokes, these men essentially picked the pockets of tens of thousands of
Americans and, in the process, took their identities, stole their money and swiped their
security," he told a news conference.

Comey said the scheme was orchestrated by Philip Cummings, a 33-year old employee at
Teledata Communications Inc. of Bayshore, New York. Teledata, which was not charged,
provides banks and other corporations with access to consumer credit information from the
three commercial credit bureaus -- Equifax Inc., Experian and TransUnion.

None of the credit bureaus was implicated in the scheme, authorities said. Teledata said in a
statement that it cooperated in the investigation, but declined to comment on the arrest.

Comey said Cummings had agreed to provide credit details to a co-conspirator in return for
money.

He said Cummings was provided with a "wish list" of desired reports and, using stolen
passwords, Cummings accessed the documents and allegedly sold them to a network of
more than 20 individuals of Nigerian descent in the Brooklyn and Bronx suburbs of New
York.

Those individuals allegedly used the personal information -- credit card and bank account
details and Social Security numbers -- to make money. They would open credit card or bank
accounts under the stolen identities and then run up charges.

They allegedly paid $60 per report, half of which was split with Cummings, Comey said.

Cummings, of Cartersville, Ga., appeared in the U.S District Court in Manhattan late on
Monday where he was released on a $500,000 personal bond, secured by $100,000 in
equity. The next court hearing was set for Dec. 26.

If convicted, Cummings could get up to 30 years in prison for wire and fraud charges as
well as millions in fines.

'WORST NIGHTMARE'

Authorities said Ford Motor Credit Corp. was one such company whose confidential
password and subscriber code were allegedly stolen and used by Cummings to access
15,000 credit reports from Experian over a 10-month time period.

Ford discovered the scheme after reviewing bills sent by Experian and after receiving
numerous complaints from its customers, investigators said.

After searching its database, Experian found that passwords of Washington Mutual Bank in
Florida and Washington Mutual Finance in Crossville, Tenn., had also been hacked into, with
6,000 other credit reports illegally siphoned off.

"The potential windfall was probably far greater than the contents of a bank vault ... and
they didn't even need a getaway car," said Kevin Donovan, assistant director of the Federal
Bureau of Investigation.

Other companies, including Dollar Bank in Cleveland, Ohio, Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center
in Ilinois, the Personal Finance Company in Frankfort, Ind., and Vintage Apartments in
Houston, were also affected.

"It was every American's worst financial nightmare," Comey said. He added that there was
no reason to suspect any terrorist connection.

Cummings, with two other defendants -- Linus Baptiste and Hakeem Mohammed -- allegedly
started the scheme in early 2000. Baptiste was arrested in early October and Cummings
turned himself in earlier on Monday, Comey said. The ages of Baptiste and Mohammed were
not disclosed in court documents.

Comey added that his office had sent letters to the 30,000 victims asking for additional
information. He said consumers looking for more information about the fraud should go to
[Only registered and activated users can see links. Either login above or Register Now] or call 1877-IDTHEFT.

************
Can't believe they released this guy on bail. Think he'll show up? Right! We'll be seeing him on "America's Most Wanted" next season... then "Bounty Hunters"...


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[3tbear]

I have given information to Experian about a year or two ago. My credit seems OK. Glad I didn't use them again however. I was trying to get off mailing lists at the time. In case anyone out there is wondering, also contact your local postoffice if you don't wish junk mail, to get off their lists.


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