Verizon Worker Stole Customer's IDs
A woman who worked at a Verizon store at the Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream, NY is accused of stealing the identities of more than 25 customers and using their personal information to obtain credit cards.
The worker has been charged with forgery, grand larceny, fraud and identity theft, according to Newsday.
After several customers reported the id theft, investigators used the information to obtain a search warrant. Police found "credit card applications and personal identification of more than 25 identity theft victims," as well as merchandise purchased with the credit cards at the Verizon worker's home.
Apparently, the worker had stolen the information from customers who shopped at her store on Aug 17, making it especially easy to track her down.
Police: Verizon worker stole customer IDs [Newsday]
(Photo:Ben Popken)
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Comments:
Ugh, this is my home mall. It pretty much fits the story well.
@Heytherekiller
I usually do, but sometimes I need something quick, and a trip all the way out to Roosevelt Field isnt worth it.
i wonder how much money those 25 people got taken for
before she got caught
well she was charged with grand larceny, so that a minimum of 3k I think.(could be wrong)
Obligatory Verizon Damage Control Press Release in 3...2...1...
"At Verizon, we take our customers privacy and security very seriously. We will work hand in hand with law enforcement to ensure that the ex-employee (who, by the way, wasn't *really* one of ours, she was a contractor outsourced from our satellite division in Pago Pago) is brought to justice. We will continue to vigorously protect the data of our valued customers by sending out this press release and not changing a damn thing throughout our internal operations. In addition, we will offer to pay for 30 days of credit monitoring for any of our affected customers (while completely denying any negligence on our part) AND give them a $5.00 gift certificate to Popeye's Chicken."
@xtc46:
Grand larceny is theft of more than $999.99 dollars, hence the name GRAND as in at least one grand.
This isn't really a Verizon story. It's more of a "criminal working in a capacity that allows access to peoples' personal info" story.
Could have been anyone, really. I'm sure SunCom or Cingular or etc don't really vet kiosk type employees all that well.
So the moral of the story - it can happen anywhere anyone has access to enough of your personal information to get the deed done.
Yes, this could happen to pretty much any company. This is why so many companies want to use credit checks to sniff out people with financial problems, and background checks to sniff out even minor crimes if they're "crimes of dishonesty".
$5 coupon to Popeye's Chicken?! Well then, that takes care of everything!
$5 coupon to Popeye's Chicken?! Well then, that takes care of everything! I want chicken....
Wonder if this woman bumps up the statistic from 36 to 37%