In its most recent report to Congress, the Veterans Affairs Department reported that on August 25, 6,299 out of the 69,366 “Benefit Summary” letters intended for veterans and non-veterans in Massachusetts were mailed to incorrect addresses. The letters contained the veterans’ and non-veterans’ benefit information including their claim number, which, in some instances, was the…
Category: U.S.
Woman gets 18 months for ID theft for misusing her kids’ identities
The Identity Theft Resource Center and Privacy Rights Clearinghouse have both been active in trying to highlight the growing risks of children having their identity information misused for fraud. In too many cases, the perpetrators are their own parents. Although I generally don’t report all these cases on this blog, here’s a case in Maryland…
TN: DCS building burglarized, confidential information found
Nate Morabito reports: Johnson City police are looking for the person who ransacked the Plymouth Road Department of Children’s Services building this weekend. According to the police report, officers believe a juvenile likely broke into the building to get the title to his car back. According to the report, that title was stripped from him after…
CA: 3rd suspect charged in pump-skimming scam
Henry K. Lee reports: A third suspect has been charged for his role in a gas pump-skimming operation that was uncovered in Martinez and victimized customers throughout Northern California, authorities said Wednesday. Edwin Hamazaspyan, 31, is facing identity theft and conspiracy charges along with David Karapetyan, 31, and Zhirayr Zamanyan, 30, all of Los Angeles. The three…
Two charged with credit union theft that allegedly used Navy clinic data
Another case allegedly involving theft of patient data for fraud. John Wharton reports from Maryland: St. Mary’s grand jurors have charged two county residents with stealing from the Navy Federal Credit Union, in a scheme that law officers allege misappropriated the personal information of Navy health clinic patients. Donna Mason, a 41-year-old Lexington Park woman,…
Data breach in 2005 fueled a long-running massive Medicare fraud scheme
An indictment unveiled in New York today concerning a huge Medicare fraud scheme reveals how both medical professionals and patients may have their identities stolen in furtherance of fraud. And in this case, a data breach years ago provided much of the identity information needed. William K. Rashbaum and Michael Wilson report: An Armenian-American crime…