NCJ Number
209082
Date Published
2003
Length
0 pages
Annotation
This DVD provides narrative information on and dramatizes the investigation of a credit card fraud scheme that involves identity theft.
Abstract
The DVD opens with the dramatization of a victim discovering that his identity has been used to order credit cards, which were subsequently used to purchase merchandise that was resold by the offender, incurring debt and bad credit for the victim. The offender's methods for obtaining the identity information on potential victims are also dramatized. These methods include information obtained through the Internet and information supplied by an unwitting accomplice enticed to provide information to the offender from employment forms where she works. The dramatization of the investigation of this case leads postal inspectors to the woman who supplied the information from employment forms, who is in turn recruited to wear a wire when she confronts the offender about what he is doing with the information she provided him. He acknowledges how the identity information was being used to commit fraud, and he is subsequently arrested by postal inspectors. Instructive information for avoiding identity theft is provided in the DVD. Suggestions are to deposit outgoing mail at the post office or give it directly to the mail carrier; shred or tear up unwanted documents that contain personal information before discarding them; review personal consumer credit reports annually; and never provide personal information over the phone or the Internet unless you initiate the contact.