Five Indicted In Philly ID Theft Case

If you followed the identity theft news coming out of Philadelphia this morning, you’d probably read that Miguel Bell was known as a bit of a charmer. At least that’s federal authorities’ take on the 34-year-old — they say he used this romantic wherewithal to forge relationships with numerous female bank tellers. That his romantic interests were bound by the same industry is no mere coincidence. Federal agents cited by the Philadelphia Daily News suggest that Bell “parlayed his liaisons…to get customers’ personal information and account numbers.”

Bell is among a group of five individuals indicted and charged with operating an identity theft ring in which two dozen others are believed to have been involved. Altogether, the group allegedly attempted to steal more than $1 million from victims’ bank accounts, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal.

The crimes outlined in the indictment allegedly occurred between Sept. 1, 2005 and Nov. 30, 2008. Ring associates are believed to have used customer personal identifying information and bank account numbers to cash fraudulent checks and make fraudulent withdrawals. The Business Journal names eight banks as having been affected: Citizens Bank, PNC Bank, Wachovia Bank, M&T Bank, Provident Bank, Sun Trust Bank, Commerce Bank, and Sovereign Bank. The core group allegedly recruited the larger group of “check runners” who were given phony driver’s licenses and paid after the work of cashing the fraudulent checks was done (many among the group of check runners were drug addicts, The Business Journal reports).

What can consumers take away from the case? You’d be hard-pressed to prevent a bank teller from turning sensitive customer account information over to a love interest—something like that is obviously outside of your control. But your bank statements are. Credit card statements, too. Monitor them routinely and if you ever see anything suspicious, report it to your financial institution immediately.

The week of Oct. 17-24 is National Protect Your Identity Week. Monitoring statements is just the beginning of best preventive practices. Visit www.identitytheft911.org and www.protectyouridnow.org for more details.