LifeLock Blog

Having to move to a nursing home, or having to place a loved one in a nursing home, is surely one of the hardest things anyone can go through. No matter how well we research, how clean the place seems, or how nice the staff seems to be, it’s the horror stories we’ve all heard that keep us awake at night.

I hate to do it, but here’s another of those horror stories. Tamara Smith, a certified nursing assistant who worked in several Savannah, GA area nursing homes, has been charged with stealing the identities of more than 40 of the nursing home residents that she was supposed to be caring for.

She used that information to open credit card accounts, and to buy computers and cell phones.

Smith’s victims were as young as 60 and as old as 100. Along with the 43 identity theft charges against her, Smith will also receive an elder abuse charge for each victim over 65. More than half of her victims are, or were, residents at Tara Nursing Home in Thunderbolt, GA.

Irene Pennington, Thunderbolt police chief said they’re still investigating the identity thefts, and expect to discover more victims. She also said they expect to arrest others suspected of being involved in the crimes.

LifeLock provides identity theft protection to nearly 1.5 million people in the United States. Visit LifeLock.com to learn more about their innovative and comprehensive services. Enroll using the LifeLock promotional code Defense to receive a huge discount.

We’ve all heard – or experienced – the horror stories of identity thieves who use stolen identities to open credit card accounts or buy cars, boats and houses. But, it could be worse. Take Malcolm Byrd’s story for instance: it’s the stuff Coen brothers’ movies are made of.

It starts with a guy in Wisconsin, Malcolm Byrd, reading a story in the local newspaper that details his arrest of the previous night. What the …? He goes to the police department. They explain that some guy got arrested for coke possession with intent to sell and gave his name as Malcolm Byrd.  By the time the “real” Malcolm Byrd read about the arrest, the impostor had bonded out of jail and was released.

Next, Malcolm goes to the paper. Apologies are made. A retraction is run. It was a strange, strange day for our hero, but it’s all been cleared up, right? Of course not. If it were all cleared up, it wouldn’t be worthy of the Coen brothers. (more…)