ID THEFT SUPPORTS DRUG HABIT

I did a post recently about how some ID thieves were specializing in stealing personal records from the retail trade. Although this is not new, a recent incident here in Arizona is worth mentioning. At least 40 people were victimized around the Tucson area, with a potential loss of over $100,000. Four people were arrested with computers, personal ID’s, Social Security numbers, and other types of private documents. Their motive: “…ripping people off to support their meth habits.” according to Pima County Sheriff’s deputy, Dawn Barkman. The lesson to be learned here is that the identity crooks are organized, and with a goal to sustain their drug habit, the desire involves much more than just greed. And it isn’t just those neighborhoods populated with drug dealers where it happens. The “druggies” are just another faction of a presiding hierarchy within the criminal community that has realized the value of your sensitive data. With an agenda that calls for using this information until you finally discover your fate, then moving on to your neighbor, there is nothing short of the individual’s control over their names and personal data that will solve the problem.