80 phone taps, one million conversations, over two years.
-jma
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/05/15/2009-05-15_nypd_breaks_up_identity_theft_ring_in_which_6000_victims_credit_wrecked_banks_bi.html
NYPD breaks up identity theft ring in which 6,000 victims' credit
wrecked, banks bilked out of $15M
BY Alison Gendar
DAILY NEWS POLICE BUREAU CHIEF
Friday, May 15th 2009, 4:00 AM
Egan-Chin/News
The NYPD has crushed a sophisticated identity theft ring that wrecked the
credit of 6,000 victims and bilked banks out of $15 million in bogus
charges. Above, evidence collected.
The NYPD has crushed a sophisticated identity theft ring that wrecked the
credit of 6,000 victims and bilked banks out of $15 million in bogus
charges.
The scam, which stretched from New York to Nigeria, is one of the largest
operations of its kind dismantled by the NYPD, Police Commissioner
Raymond Kelly said Thursday.
The thieves somehow managed to get their hands on thousands of credit
cards legitimately issued in the victims' names, but intercepted them
before they arrived at the proper destination.
They then called the credit card companies - using a legal device called
a SpoofCard to disguise their voice and phone number - to activate the
credit cards.
"From a law enforcement perspective, such cards are anything but a
spoof," said Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.
Once the companies fell for the ruse, the suspects used the cards for
cash advances or to buy luxury items in Japan, Saudi Arabia and Dubai.
In some cases, they even paid to boost the card's line of credit so they
could go back for more cash.
Once every penny was spent, the thieves recycled them as backup
identification to open new credit accounts.
The scam was discovered nearly two years ago when a Queens Realtor opened
a package meant for one of his employees and found 60 credit cards - the
type "normally issued in anticipation of a customer's card
expiring," Kelly said.
The NYPD traced those cards around the globe.
During a 21-month investigation, cops used 80 phone taps to eavesdrop on
more than 1 million calls, said Deputy Chief Jeremiah Quinlan, head of
the special investigations division.
Investigators fluent in West African languages and dialects were called
in to tease out 250,000 conversations relevant to the probe.
Thirty-five suspects, mostly Nigerian immigrants in the city, were
arrested and face charges of enterprise corruption, larceny and
conspiracy.
Police are still trying to figure out how the crooks obtained the cards,
said Deputy Inspector Gregory Antonsen, head of the NYPD's ID Theft Task
Force.
After the scheme came to light, the banks were on the hook for the stolen
money, but the cardholders still had to rebuild their ruined credit.
age..._at_nydailynews.com
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James M.
Atkinson
Phone: (978) 546-3803
Granite Island
Group
Fax: (978) 546-9467
127 Eastern Avenue
#291
Web:
http://www.tscm.com/
Gloucester, MA
01931-8008
E-mail:
mailto:jm..._at_tscm.com
http://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesmatkinson
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No enterprise is more likely to succeed than one concealed from the
enemy until it is ripe for execution. - Machiavelli, The Prince,
1521
Received on Sat Mar 02 2024 - 00:57:24 CST