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Identity Theft, Georgia 2013
Columbus, Georgia has seen a surge in identity theft cases, with the city ranking as the #2 location in the country for stolen identity affidavits filed with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in 2013.
According to officials, the rise in identity theft is attributed to the theft of Personal Identifying Information (PII) from several large employers in and around the Columbus area, as well as stolen U.S. Treasury checks being cashed by various local banks and/or check cashers.
Theft of PII has led to various schemes, including using the information to file fraudulent tax returns, check cashing runners who transfer the fraudulent tax refund checks from the fraudulent tax return filer to the check cashers, and check cashers knowingly cashing fraudulent tax refund checks and charging higher percentages than allowed by states or receiving a kickback for cashing the checks.
To combat this rising crime, a combined effort among the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Attorney’s Office, the United States Secret Service, the Postal Inspector, Harris County Sheriff’s Department, and the Columbus Police Department has led to the creation of an identity theft task force.
Inquiries regarding the task force should be directed to Pamela Lightsey, United States Attorney’s Office at (478) 621-2603.
A press conference was held on April 13, with a transcript available upon request.
For more information, visit WJTV Columbus for their coverage of the story.
Key Facts
- State: Georgia
- Category: Cybercrime
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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