LifeLock Blog

A bank teller along with 5 other people have been arrested this week for identity theft. The arrests come as part of a crackdown on identity theft rings in South Florida. Florida is 3rd in the nation in identity theft, so it’s no surprise Florida is trying to crack down on it’s identity theft problem.

Curisha Bryant, 21, of West Park worked at a BankAtlantic branch and was allegedly stealing information from customers and giving it her accomplices. The defendants are accused of stealing identities, cashing forged checks, and using stolen credit cards. They were also accused of trying to recruit more people to do the same. There are three other people who are yet to be arrested who share the 21-count federal indictment.

It still scares me when I read about bank tellers, employees of the bank, giving out personal information so they can steal from their customers. Makes you wonder how well bank employees are watched to prevent identity theft. I assume they have security in place to make sure they don’t stealing money from their drawers. Why wouldn’t they put security in place to prevent employees from stealing information about their customers as well. Is it just me or does that make a whole lot of sense?

I hope they find the other three people who are yet to be arrested. I also look forward to reading more stories of further crackdowns on identity theft in South Florida. It’s about time they get serious about trying to catch and take down the identity theft rings that reside in Florida.

A Philadelphia man is accused of using his romantic skills to take advantage of bank tellers at various Philadelphia Banks. Miguel Bell is being accused of having affairs with many female bank tellers in order to convince them to slip him customer information. He then uses this information to apply for drivers licenses and make fake checks.

Bell and his organization compromised dozens of accounts at eight different banks. One Citizens Bank teller gave out 37 customer’s private information allowing Bell’s organization to steal an estimated $390,000 according to the indictment.

Bell’s organization would use the information to apply for Drivers Licenses and make bogus checks. They would then hire check runners to go and cash the checks for a cut of the money. The check runners were typically drug addicts who didn’t mind making some easy money. Hiring the check runners makes it harder to catch the identity thief because they are never the ones trying to cash the fake checks.

The alleged ID theft ring is believed to have stolen $1.3 million in all. It’s a scary thing when you find out that the thieves received your information from the people who are paid to protect it. Given out freely by employees of the companies that store your information and money. The bank tellers must not of been very honest people to begin with if they would volunteer such information. Perhaps he did something that forced them to give him information! We will have to wait for the trial to see.

Dallas identity theft ringleader Keasha Antoinette Turner was sentenced to six years in federal prison and ordered to pay more than $100,000 in restitution.

Turner worked with two Citibank employees as accomplices. Andrea Renee Harris and Christianna M. Wright, who worked in Citibank’s customer service and collections department, shared their access to account information with Turner. Turner used that information to receive Visa and MasterCard credit cards and make fraudulent purchases.

Turner pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud in August. Harris was sentenced to 18 months in prison, and ordered to restitution in the amount of $11,812 after her guilty plea to a bank fraud charge. Wright received a 34-month sentence, and must pay $51,312 in restitution.

The case was investigated by the US Secret Service and prosecuted by Assistant US Attorney David Jarvis.

Senior US District Judge A. Joe Fish said before sentencing Turner that she had been involved in ID theft and fraud for many years causing significant pain and stress for her victims.

Car salesman, hospital employees and credit card companies—we give our personal and financial information out all the time to total strangers. We have to.

But how can you protect yourself from identity theft and credit card fraud? Truthfully, there isn’t much you can do, but LifeLock can sure help you protect yourself and your family.

LifeLock is the industry leader in identity theft protection services. Visit their website at LifeLock.com to see why their innovative and comprehensive program has been the choice for nearly 1.5 million consumers.