To catch an ID thief

PC Tattletale, Detroit MI — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 19:19:35 GMT

We get a lot of frad orders online for our Parental Monitoring Software. Most come from over-seas. Another way crooks can get fake credit cards is to simply generate the numbers. It's a well-known math formula to build them. Then you simply bang on an ecommerce site until one goes through. Funny thing is people assume their credit card was stolen when quite possibly it was "guessed". Looking forward to seeing the show. Thanks Chris. - Bryan

To catch an ID thief

Mary, Westmoreland City, PA — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 19:19:44 GMT

I love Dateline and the fact that they are exposing many slimy creatures. I had no idea how many men lusted after teen agers until Chris exposed them on the program. Keep it up Dateline and I'll keep turning in to the program. You're doing a much need public service.

To catch an ID thief

Kelly H, Fremont, Ohio — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 19:23:48 GMT

To whom it may concern, My name is Kelly and I live in Fremnt Ohio. Last May, my identity and other items were stolen from my vehicle. The person responsible was caught in August-September of last year. She had written over $2000.00 in stolen checks on my closed account. However, some of those did effect my credit. Now that she is up for sentencing in late April, with the lovely State of Ohio charging her with 2 out of 9 counts, I need some help. I have contacted the State Attorney General office, no responce back, I have called my Senator's Office, in Ohio and Washington DC, no response, I have contacted anyone they have told me to contact and I have gottin absolutely nowhere. I have also contacted local attorney's offices, they can only help if you pay upfront, and I just barely overqualify on legal aide. Where is the help for Identity Theft Victims??? Where is our Justice??? Is there anyone that can help me???

To catch an ID thief

Ellen Sullivan, Birmingham, AL — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 19:44:29 GMT

My 16 year old son was a victim of identity theft when he opened up his first checking and savings accounts. We opened the accounts on a Sat and an on line pay account was opened the following Mon. He had his savings account linked to his checking account and in the end his accounts were cleaned out before he realized it. About $1700 in all. We filed all the paper work with the bank to get his money back, closed the accounts and opened new accounts with the same bank. I also contacted the three credit bureaus and pushed them to put a fraud alert on his file. My son had his identity stolen 90 days after we had opened his second accounts. This time they opened a different online pay account and got over $3000. We filed all the paperwork and changed banks. We have not had this happen since. But it has taken years to try and get this cleared up. The company who opened the on line pay account tried to collect the money from my son. When I informed them that he was a victim of identity theft they didn't care. I also told them they opened a line of credit for a 16 year old, which isn't legal in this country. This company is based in Canada. I request proof that merchandise had been delivered to my house and copies of my son's signature to open the account. They would not or could not provide any proof.

To catch an ID thief

jason san diego california — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 20:22:43 GMT

chris i think what you do is great getting the scum/trash of or streets and expose theme.your show is like john walsh's show amw.you guys catch more criminals than the police do. i think its great ,keep up the good job.

To catch an ID thief

H. Suzanne McMillon — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 21:00:10 GMT

I'm planning on taping you show because so many people don't realize how ID Thief is a real problem. Because they feel if they don't use the internet or credit cards ID Thief won't affect them. There are 5 different areas to steal someone ID and use it to destroy a persons life. I look forward to watching your show because you help educate people about real world problems we face every day. Thanks for such wonderful community service reporting! Keep up the good work!! H.S.M -Des Moines, WA

To catch an ID thief

Barb Sehnke, Mt. Prospect, IL — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 22:06:35 GMT

You would think with all the technology the US has that these types of predators would be caught before thousands of dollars are "stolen". I was a victim myself of stolen identity and knew nothing for nearly 3 years. These people should be flogged and sent to an off-shore island with no way of getting off. Maybe a couple of years in this situation would change their minds of stealing poor people's money.

To catch an ID thief

Kris White — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:23:55 GMT

One thing I didn't see mentioned in the show is that the stolen credit cards (bait cards in this case) would probably be flagged... there is no legitimate reason a credit card would get authorized simultaneously from countries all over the world within minutes of each other. CC companies have elaborate systems that look for out-of-pattern activity. I've had it happen to me -- I was out the country for the first time and my AT&T calling card suddenly showed a bunch of calls from a foreign country. It was really me, but since it was unusual based on my history, they suspended the card and I had to contact them and verify it was really me. Not foolproof, but at least more than the "appearance" that the CC companies would let the multi-country authorizations happen without flagging it.

To catch an ID thief

Kevin Mitnick, Los Angeles, Cali. — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:24:19 GMT

DON'T CALL THEM HACKERS. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_definition_controversy THEY'RE CRACKERS. GET IT RIGHT.

To catch an ID thief

F Wyatt Richmond Va — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:24:20 GMT

An excellent topic and much needed. Continue the investigation because I am a internet puchase junkie and this really scares me. Ive had my card used fraudulently while the card is still is still in my pocket. This is the kind of tv info i will watch.

To catch an ID thief

MK, Belleville, IL — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:24:25 GMT

Having been a victim of credit card/banking fraud, although on a smaller scale than many people I know who have been victimized as well, makes me that more vigiliant and determined to help make certain this does not happen to anyone else. I want to take my career to a whole new level with identity theft/fraud. It has become my passion in recent years. When looking for career/jobs regarding this, it seems virtually impossible to find. Can anyone advise how I might be able to direct my efforts in this growing trend? I would appreciate all responses.

To catch an ID thief

Shannon Helfrich, Mount Vernon, Indiana — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:25:08 GMT

What do we do to follow up after ID is stolen? My parents had a credit card number stolen this week after buying something on the internet. I told them that they have to do more than cancel the account number and open a new one. They are not concerned, at least as not as much as I am. Can you put a "To do list" on your site to point us the in right direction?

To catch an ID thief

Bruce Lemons — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:25:42 GMT

Why not require PIN numbers with credit card usage. No PIN, no purchase. Just like an ATM card. It seems so simple.

To catch an ID thief

Erin, Milwaukee WI — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:26:00 GMT

As a college student, my identity was stolen. More than 3 years later, a collection agency contacted me about a cell phone account balance. Angry, I spent hours researching suspects and finally uncovered the woman responsible. I provided a file folder full of information to the Milwaukee PD, who told me that nothing would ever be done about it because they were too busy. Three years later, another collection agency contacted me about another cell phone account balance for the same woman. An attorney by that point, I immediately went to the Milwaukee PD. I was told that I couldn't file a police report until I could provide the department with EVERY SINGLE BILLING STATEMENT from the account. Unfortunately, the cell phone company won't give me the documentation until they get a fraud notice from the collection agency. But the collection agency won't send a fraud notice until they have a police report number. When I explained this problem to the Milwaukee PD, they told me that they can't file a report until they have all the evidence. Interestingly, when my clients are charged with crimes, the alleged victims aren't asked to perform the entire investigation for the Milwaukee PD. I guess identity theft victims are just special.

To catch an ID thief

Donna Evans, Rehoboth, MA — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:26:23 GMT

The thing that upsets me most about ID theft & fraud is that the police didn't do anything about bringing in the criminals ... even when I gave them all the info they needed. I went through a lot of work to get names, addresses & phone numbers about people who ripped me off & 1 police officer told me I shouldn't bother them ... they're working on killers & rapists. A few years ago I saw a story that the FBI was looking for a British company that had dealings with an American company that was ripping off timeshare owners. I went through a lot of work getting an unlisted number & address & I called an FBI agent ... the FBI did nothing!

To catch an ID thief

Karen Walaszek, Chicago, Il — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:28:09 GMT

As a small business owner - I do not accept cc over the internet but still have my site monitored. Please don't forget about the traditional credit card thefts. It is amazing the number of cardholders who believe that an unsigned card is safer than signing their card. Anyone can sign the name from the card front on the back in their handwriting & the signature if checked will match. Writing "see ID" can easily be covered with a felt tip pen. I refuse to accept unsigned cards as my way of doing the right thing and many clients will sign & show ID esp when I use examples while some will walk out saying they don't like my rules. Banks tell cardholders that they don't need to sign their cards but the cardmember agreement & the card itself says to sign. The merchant guides tell merchants they HAVE to check signatures but most don't because clients don't sign the cards so it's to much trouble to get a signature. Technology is created to make card use faster so you don't actually pay attention to the sale and you get this false sense of security that since the card wasn't out of your hands you control the situation. I'm not sure of the % of theft online vs in traditional stores with stolen credit cards but there are things we all can do in the traditional stores to help protect each other.

To catch an ID thief

Merle Exit, Woodhaven, NY — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:28:25 GMT

There is a great source for identity theft located at airline terminals. Airlines set up a stand where you can sign up for a credit card. You are giving information such as your SS#, and your mother's maiden name. I was sitting nearby the stand when I saw a security person come over to "sell". I got her information and called someone from the airline company. After I approached her she soon left with a clipboard and papers under her arm. It occured to me that she might be obtaining information on those signing up and passing it on to someone. It also occured to me that the employees of the airline credit card company may be doing the same. Perhaps getting a teddy bear or cheap alarm clock may not be worth having your identity stolen. Or perhaps someone should be looking into this.

To catch an ID thief

J. Haran — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:29:14 GMT

I've always been told that it will hurt my credit report to cancel unused credit cards. I have cards that came with great offers that I used and are now dormant. Is the only alternative to hold onto them and hope some scammer doesn't buy my records?

To catch an ID thief

MF, Philadelphia, PA — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:29:44 GMT

The Dateline theme shows are more riveting than some of the other shows on at the same time. And, Chris Hansen rocks!

To catch an ID thief

Keith J. K. a.k.a. Peraxis, Elk Grove Village, IL — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:30:06 GMT

Good I love this episode, I want to contact card cops and see if my info has ever been stolen, even a little, and see what can be done to fix it, Chris H. You go dude, you rock!!!! I love your "To Catch a...(insert unsavoury topic here)" series.

To catch an ID thief

Katherine McManus — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:30:11 GMT

THANK YOU!!!!! I'm watching 'to catch a thief' and you guys are great! doing things the fed gov won't get off their sorry civil butts and do. Same with your 'predator' series. Thank you for being one of the very civicly responsible news outlets out there. When you air these shows, I show my appreciation by NOT turning the channel when the commercials come up!! Thanks again, we appreciate your diligence in going after these bottom feeders, child demonizers (can you get any worse than those guys?) that are truly the scourge of society. thanks again, we do APRECIATE YOU!!

To catch an ID thief

Rich U — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:31:14 GMT

I think with todays' technology this is a simple/easy and cheap fix, but it may take a while to get it up and running. When a sale is made and using a credit card there needs a e-mail or text message with a random code that is sent back to the owner of the card. (e-mail/cell number for texting is set up before the card is active). The owner of the card has to put this code sent to them by the credit card company to finish the authorization, if the code does not come back in a short time, with few attempts then the authorization will not go thru. It may be a pain at first but it would be better than bad credit.

To catch an ID thief

Donna Kargol, Orland Park, IL — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:36:31 GMT

I thought I would share my experience. About two years ago, I received a call from a computer company telling me someone used my Discover card to order $10,000.00 in computer hardware. At first I thought they were phishing, so I wouldn't give out any information. The person I was talking to gave me all my info, and the i.p. address where the transaction originated from. They also had the address that the order was to be shipped to. I called Discover, and they were unconcerned. I was told that unless the transaction actually went through, they couldn't help me. I was upset. Here I had information that could prevent an idenity thief from doing it to someone else, and it didn't seem to matter.

To catch an ID thief

Dean Murray, Allenstown, NH — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:41:34 GMT

According to Dateline, most credit card ID theft originates from over seas. It should be very easy to cut out over half of the ID theft by issuing credit cards that can only charge purchases in the issuing country of origin. Since most people do not travel internationally or purchase goods over seas, these country of origin only cards would cut out much of the current levels of fraud.

To catch an ID thief

Jon Dough, Olympia, Wash. — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:42:38 GMT

Finally you guys are showing something other than Catch a predator.

To catch an ID thief

Amanda, Medina, Ohio — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:42:43 GMT

I am 21 and a college student paying my own way. In october, a few days before my birthday, my debit card number was stolen by the waiter at a local IHOP restaurant. He swiped my card twice and stole my number right in front of me charging over $800 worth of merchandise within the next 2 days. It cleared out my checking account... luckily I did not have overdraft coverage or it would have cleaned out my life savings... what I use to pay for school. The police from my hometown took action immediately and found out who it was by charges he had made to his cell phone number. My case had to be transfered to where the fraud took place... Cleveland Ohio and suddenly it was as if the investigation stopped. I spent months without a word and had to wait to get my money reimbursed. When they finally did contact me I was able to identify the waiter's picture. That was over 2 months ago and I have yet to hear back about whether or not they arrested him. I still have not and will not go back to the IHOP where he was still employed last I heard. It was an awful experience that left me feeling vulnerable and taken advantage of. I still don't trust waiters/waitresses or other store clerks with my debit card... also for anyone reading this, watch when you order online or use your card at a gaspump.

To catch an ID thief

DW. Gregg, Amarillo TX — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:44:20 GMT

Thank goodness, someone with the power is finally doing something about i.d. theft and credit card fraud. I want to see more, I want to see the arrests. I want dateline to install fear in these predators as well. Great Job and let us see more.

To catch an ID thief

Amie, Miami, Florida — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:48:12 GMT

I recently moved after living in my home for 16 years. Last month, I noticed some charges on my credit card that I did not authorize. When I contacted my credit card company, they told me that some of the charges had originated from Russia! They were for online dating services and had isp addresses overseas. How can i stop the thieves? i have contacted the 3 major credit reporting agencies, put a fraud alert on my social security #, made a police report...but after watching your report I feel like I will never be safe again! My FICO score has dropped more than 100 points in the past 6 weeks! What can I do?

To catch an ID thief

karen dean rossville georgia — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:49:51 GMT

Just today I received an e-mail asking me if I would like to earn money by going to underground websites and get information for people who will pay me for it. I deleted the letter but now I think I will save it and report it to the feds. I thank you for your investigation, it opened my eyes to what this letter was probably all about. I don't know how they got my name and address. I just hope they don't have any other info on me.

To catch an ID thief

Kim Stratton, Washingtonville, Ohio — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:50:32 GMT

To whom it may concern, My name is Kim. I wanted to get in touch with you to let you know that I believe a man that contacted me might of been involved in thee identity theft scam. He contacted me throught yahoo. His approach was similar to what I saw on your show. I proceeded to add him to my yahoo and he was telling me how he was in Africa, operating his dads electronics business. He wanted me to receive packages here at my home for him, but I refused. His approach to me seemed to fishy. He started off by saying how I was the woman of his dreams and he wanted to make me his. I found this odd, considering he did not even know me, but was also suspicious since I have labeled myself on myspace as a single mother of three. I have saved the conversations on yahoo, but have deleted him from any of my friends list. If you would like to see the conversations, just let me know and I will email them to you. The name this person went by was Johnson Kingsley. He said that he was originally from Florida and has a son. It is in the conversations I saved. I hope that he is caught should he be a part of the scams. It is all too familiar with everything that you talked about on your show. Thanks for taking the time to read this and if I can be of any more help with this person, please just let me know.

To catch an ID thief

Sandra, Fairfax, VA — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:56:54 GMT

Congratulations on your show!

To catch an ID thief

Jason L, Huntingburg, IN — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:57:37 GMT

Chris, Thank You for uncovering these ID Theft Predators. I'm 36 years old and had my identity stolen by my Insurance agent back in 1993, and still to this day, am trying to fully recover. My credit was ruined and my life has changed forever. Hundreds of Thousands of dollars if not more was charged, my drivers licence was cancelled and reinstated in another state. Atleast one person was shot and killed after he was questioned during the investigation. I was arrested and thank goodness, the police believed me and didn't hold me behind bars. To make a very long story short, my credit is still trying to recover, and I still have a hard time getting a loan with a good rate. Again, I praise you for the work you do in the Predator Series, from Sexual Predators to ID Theft Predators. They both destroy lives!!! I'm now married with a 7 year old girl, and because I suffered that event 14 years ago, they also are paying the price for what my insurance agent did. Oh! by the way, my insurance agent was charged with about 50 charges, and I believe he got off with a slap on the wrist.

To catch an ID thief

dave smith, worcester, MA — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:57:39 GMT

To the person who got their identity stolen and is seeking recourse: Identity theft should never affect your credit if you take some steps. You need to contact the credit reporting agencies and explain it in a letter to them. At that point it is their responsibility to research it, then if they do not take action within 60 days (if I remember correct) file papers against them under the fair credit reporting act. You don't need a lawyer to represent you in court. I would utilize the internet to get more information. Your apt to find very little on this site.

To catch an ID thief

Jason Mohoff — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:57:47 GMT

Some of us unsuspecting folks get our credit card #s stolen...but how in the world can anyone be so stupid as to "forward" merchandise (and pay for the shipping!!) to another country...???

To catch an ID thief

Amy Falb, Altoona PA — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:58:13 GMT

I was contacted by a medical supply company in London to act as a middleman. It looked suspicious and when I Googled the name of the medical supply company, nothing came up. They had sent me a contract and everything and urged me to sign up right away.

To catch an ID thief

John Doe — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:58:46 GMT

My boyfriend had someone take money out of a secondary savings account by a company named route 66. They obtained a debit/atm card and even after he turned off his debit/atm card, they were still using the card. We are trying to trace them right now.

To catch an ID thief

Graham, NYC, NY — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 01:02:56 GMT

Amazing episode, this, to me, also opened up the whole can of worms about internet dating. Even when "legit", these companies are making millions. What are the real percentages of couples that get marraied, or are people on a merry go round making people pay for nothing but headaches. Do these companies really try to match people or is it all b.s. I don't know anyone who married someone that met on the internet. Dateline should look into this type of theft. Preying on the lonely with false hopes. Just like the poor guy in this episode. Keep it up Dateline. Awsome.

To catch an ID thief

John Nelson — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 01:03:09 GMT

Going to school and studying international business, then watching Dateline,our world is getting smaller, I feel terrible with what is happening. Be afraid be very afraid. What an impact this show carries

To catch an ID thief

Just A Guy, Boston Ma — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 01:09:52 GMT

As a software developer, it is nice to see some attention paid to the people committing the crimes as opposed to focusing solely on companies that are under constant attack 24x7 from Asia and every other country. Companies have logs of IP Address committing these attacks but there is no one to go to with them. No doubt we need to develop better software, but why can the RIAA shutdown music sharing in less than a year but yet nothing can be done about these hackers and identity theifs.

To catch an ID thief

Shawn Peters, Harrogate, TN — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 01:10:01 GMT

I was just recently a victim of credit card theft. About 2 weeks ago someone stole my ATM card number and attempted a 1$ transaction. I am thankfull that my bank has a wonderful security "watchdog" to protect me. They reconized it as a potential fraud, called me and after a discussion, deactivated my card and placed my account on fraud alert. The next day someone attempted a $1400 purchase on my debit card. If this had went through successfully I would have ben in major trouble. The most interesting thing is that They attempted to have it delivered to my home address. Was this a Professional or a local? I Don't know. All I know is I was lucky and very thankfull that this didn't cost me anything.

To catch an ID thief

Jerry, Eufaula, OK — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 01:10:27 GMT

As of last night while on ebay there have been 4 attempts to steal my credit card number. These attempts were caught by the security software I use. I have been unable to get the ebay web site to pay any attention, at least through their online help sites and it is impossible to get hold of a live ebay representative. What to do?

To catch an ID thief

Janet Sacramento Calif — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 01:10:30 GMT

I was a victim also through my bank. Some one opened up AOL accounts using my credit card AOL knew who the person was but would not give out their name. They also tried to buy lap top computers. I changed by credit card number 3 times in 4 months I finally went to B of A and told them I felt it was an inside job. I now have a $200 limit on my card if some one tries to charge more than that they must know the password. If I charge more they will ask me for the password. This is one way I have protected myself. CHRIS YOU ROCK KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!!!

To catch an ID thief

debra boushley, Oshkosh,Wi. — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 01:10:31 GMT

I had my id stolen once in madison,wi. It was taken from the bus that i was on. The person used the debit card and send the money to a person in Colorado. Then the person used for the lubrary and ran up a bill on that to. I am very more carefull not to use the card over in internet. I like Dateline stories it helpes me more about I.D. THIEF. I called the bank and they gave my money back to pay for my rent which some stolen.

To catch an ID thief

EDWARD ATON BANGOR,PA — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 01:10:36 GMT

I just had my pnc check card number stolen and someone charged over $230.00 to my checking account. I don't even know how they got my number.

To catch an ID thief

mary from new york — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 01:11:22 GMT

there seems to be another scam,after the Nigerians were caught.I get emails from England about my email being chosen as a winner of a lotto.Iam old,but not stupid..but maybe other people will fall for it... mary

To catch an ID thief

Peggy G, Staten Island, NY — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 01:11:26 GMT

I saw that a purchase was made at an internet electronics store using my debit card. I called the company and my bank and was told that the transaction was still "pending" and the laptop had not yet been sent out for delivery. I asked the company to cancel the order as I had not placed it. I also asked the bank to cancel the transaction for the same reason. Long story short, the bank allowed the transaction and the electronics co. delivered the laptop to an address in North Carolina. I live in New York. The company said it would rather take a loss than disappoint a customer in the event that it was a ligitimate order! All this AFTER I INFORMED ALL PARTIES THAT THIS WAS THEFT!!!!!

To catch an ID thief

Valerie Guilford, Virginia Beach, VA — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 01:12:24 GMT

Oh my goodness! To Catch A Thief was brilliant! Your investigations surpass the other networks! We learn so much every time we watch your shows. Keep it up Chris!

To catch an ID thief

Jane Doe — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 01:12:35 GMT

I think ALL of your shows that appear on Dateline are Awesome. Keep up the Good work. At least we all know that someone is out there tracking predators and the thieves. Thanks Dateline !

To catch an ID thief

Cindy Katz — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 01:12:51 GMT

Regarding Jason Mohoff's comment about how stupid people can be. I have a friend who is currently shipping stuff to Africa for someone. I told her something didn't seem right about it, but she's doing it anyway. Some people just can't help but be gullible.

To catch an ID thief

Ben , Miami — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 01:48:00 GMT

This is the very much needed programming to identify the actual thieves out there.This is an incredible skeme which other international crooks are getting away with it. The thing to do is track down the pictures and the people behind these acts. They ruin lives and mistrust in people. I receive alot of emails and solicitation from women in Africa and Russia, and all they try to do is romance you , and ask you for money. A program should be done to try to uncover the myths of online dating. The girl in the programming piece looks alot like all the women in Nigeria of all places. keep up the good work Dateline. I hope this all uncovers a bag of deceptive crooks that need to be forced into justice for all. They must think all americans are idiots. This has to stop !!

To catch an ID thief

Andy Petersen Palm Coast, FL — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 01:48:40 GMT

My suggestion to solving I.D. theft might sound too simple to do, but has anyone thought about creating a virus that will kill a computer that is used to "take the bait" where the bait might be any one of several hundred account numbers posted to seem like a stolen credit card number. Just imagine all the scrapped computers that would start popping up. Surely our government can find someone who could create such a virus.

To catch an ID thief

Laura Placerville California — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 01:48:57 GMT

This is my second time around. I work for the state of California and many of our folks have had fraud cases against them. So I decided to check my credit reports. I was faithful in checking my reports every six months after the first time and $8000.00, but then I slacked off in checking, and it has been about two years since. I was born and raised in California, but one of the addresses on my credit report was Knoxville Tennessee, as well as other incorrect locations in California. The first go around, I went throught the hoops of proving that I did not make all of these charges, and filed a police report. I love the fact that police are available to people, but they did nothing. "We don't have the proper personel for these kinds of cases." I believe that it is very important that folks who have been victims file police reports. Maybe then, they will find it important to get more help to assist those of us who are honest and actually work hard for our money.

To catch an ID thief

Betty Cherry Kirbyville , Texas — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 01:49:33 GMT

Dear Chris, Congratulations on the progress you're making on your show. My story is not quite like that. I am a widow of 2 yrs. , lonely, so I joined match.com . And someone started writing me, telling me how much I meant to him, how he "loved" me, how he couldn't waith until we could be married. I did not respond to him in that way, I was quite "leery", and kept is "your friend" etc. Now Acidently found oout (by his stupidity) that he was e-mailing 3 other girl at the same time, writing them the same exact letter. One of the girls in Indiana, he started sending things he had purchased to her , telling her to keep them for him until he got back from Ghana. She found out that these were bought with stolen credit cards. In the process, these other 3 girls and I started writing each other, and keeping in touch with each other, telling, and sending e-mails that he sent to each of the 4 of us. He was such an idiot, he didn't realize what was going on. But the girl in Indiana went to the police, and the FBI, and they said they couldn't do anything unless he came back to the US. He's supposed to come home in April, supposedly to marry all 4 of us.!! But now he has constituted federal fraud by shipping things through the mail. We would love to see him caught. The other girl;s names are Dolores Baker from Oregon, Judt Hartman from North Dakota, Brenda Thompson from Indiana, and me, Betty Cherry from Texas. Maybe you could help us catch this jerk?? Sincerely, Betty Cherry

To catch an ID thief

dale shaffer — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 01:50:43 GMT

To all of you who have been victims of identity theft. There may be help through Pre-Paid Legal and their indentity theft program. To all of you that haven't been victims (as far as you know), now would be a good time to alleviate that concern. For further information, contact the following person.

To catch an ID thief

Another ID victim, CA — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 01:51:26 GMT

I just went through ID theft process where someone went to a wire transfer website, imput my full name, address, debit card details and csv# from card back and wired $999 to a pick up location in another country. I saw it less than 2 hours after it was initiated, by chance looking online at my bank statement. I immediately called bank, cancelled debit card, called wire transfer (who informed me it had already been picked up and another request was pending but denied by my bank), called local PD and filed a report. Then spent two weeks filling out notarized insurance forms and paperwork signing under oath I did not initiatie the transaction. All in all, my $ was back in my account in 24 hours, but paperwork cost me two weeks of phone calls, hassles. Plpus, had to contact all 3 credit reporting agencies and place a fraud alert on my accounts. All because I shopped online with my card at an unfamiliar website. Contacted them, they blamed their security holes on "general internet security issues of the times" (a cop out). PLEASE. I wanted to share my story so that folks will understand that even the most computer-savvy users can become ID theft victims (I'm a web programmer... can it get anymore ironic?) :) GOOD JOB DATELINE, KEEP THE PRESSURE ON THE BAD GUYS! :)

To catch an ID thief

Stan, Johnstown PA — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 01:52:42 GMT

How do you get a free credit report???

To catch an ID thief

Bob Indiana — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 01:52:52 GMT

It’s unfortunate that so many people think they find love through the internet, when will people realize that words in a chat room or sent through e-mail are just that… I emphasize for these people that have been scammed, yet what I see is naïve, gullible people who perpetuate these crimes not because of their ignorance of identity theft, but more so a lack of intelligence…

To catch an ID thief

W.C. Miller Milford, NH — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 01:53:14 GMT

I use my credit card for online purchases all thge time. In December 2006, my wife made an online purchase with a credit card for the first time. Someone was able to 'grab' that transaction and use the information to steal her identity. Several days after my wife made her purchase I went to make an online purchase and the transaction was rejected by the card carrier, Discover Card. When I tried another transaction the next day and it too was rejected, I called Discover and was told that the charge was refused as the shipping address did not match the billing address. Discover Card indicated that I had changed my billing adress several days ago. It seems that someone had contacted Discover Card billing and was able to get the billing address changed to an address in Arizona. After changing the address they made a number of online purchases having the items shipped to the 'new' billing address in Arizona. Upon learning of the activity I cheched the charges and then called the vendors and was able to stop several of the purchases before the items were shipped. I then called the local sheriff's ofice and provided them with information I had gathered. They went to the address that I gave them and recovered all the other items that had been purchased with my wife's 'hijacked' credit card. They learned that the person at that address was working as a 'shipping consolidator'. This person was unaware that items were being purchased with stolen credit cards and being shipped to his home. He was promised a fee for each item that he repackaged into larger containers of multiple items for shipment to an address in Europe. The good news here is that all of the items purchased with my wife's credit card informatioon was recovered along with numerous items purchased with other stolen credit cards was recovered. My credit card account was closed and a new account was opened at no loss to me or Discover.

To catch an ID thief

Michael Williams, Sumter, South Carolina — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 02:17:34 GMT

I watch Dateline tonight about ID theft an I couldn't believe what I saw. Just to I received an email from a person trying to get me to join in on this scam. When I saw the man who was scam by Wendy and he said money was place in his paypal account, I began to laugh. this person has email me records of other people in order to get me to come on board for get this--$7. Should I send you this email?

To catch an ID thief

Terry Boyd, Mc Clure, PA — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 02:17:40 GMT

Since these reponses were suppose to be about experiences with scams and identity thefts I'll relate a little something that will help people realize it happens every day and how you might try to prevent it from happening to you... I did. Back in 2005 my company was approached via e-mail/chat room to be a "clearinghouse" for receiving money orders in the USA since those usually can not be cashed overseas. Not seeing anything wrong with this, and I knew the person asking in 'real life' I said yes. When the first batch of money orders came to us via Fed Ex [no return address ] I ran a check on the money orders via Traveler's / MoneyGram who issued the money order prints. All turned out to be either counterfeit, fake, or issued previously in another amount. I knew how to check for the legally issued money orders and to establish whether they were legit or not, including the limit amounts set by agencies and stores. Most money orders can not exceed $500, $1500 max in some cases, and all have a mark set on them that when rubbed changes color and returns to it's original state after a short period of time. The people who sent these items to me didn't realize that I was someone who deals in financial exchanges on a daily basis, therefore made a big mistake even to the point of trying to sue me for money that never existed. Tips To Live By: 1] Check out the source(s) for legitimacy 2] When receiving an e-mail asking for you to "Update Personal Information" trace the source of the e-mail [ in Outlook Express right click the subject e-mail, do not open it, look at the properties of the e-mail and see the sender's e-mail address and IP address. This can not be changed even for a spammer, the DNS is specific. ] 3] If it looks suspicious Don't Open It. From experience I tell you, better to be safe than to be sorry and learn from those who have gone through the pains already.

To catch an ID thief

Tom, Denver, CO. — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 02:17:54 GMT

Absolutely incredible. I had my debit card stolen over 20 years ago and they got $600 out of my checking account. The bank reimbursed me after a full investigation. I have been very careful ever since. I thought that the criminals on "Predator" were very stupid, and now you have convinced me that they (criminals) are in fact very smart and they take advantage of many people. I am thinking about closing all my accounts and going to cash only. I wonder how the mortgage company would feel about getting a cashiers check every month, and then I realize how difficult it is to live without the basics of a credit card. As others have mentioned we need to do more about this and various levels of the government need to get involved. What you did in a matter of minutes demonstrates that our laws and law enforcement are no match for these criminals.

To catch an ID thief

Bobby — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 02:18:12 GMT

About six months ago I received an email from what I thought was AOL asking me to update my information, pin number, account number etc. Not that this is an excuse but it seemed legit but also in the back of my mind something didn't seem right, the problem is I didn't follow my instincts and gave out the information. The next day I called AOL and my worst fear was realized, they did not request the information, so I contacted my bank and was able to set up an alert with the credit companies a hit from overseas was attempted but they didn't have any luck.

To catch an ID thief

C B, CT — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 02:20:43 GMT

I have had my card number stolen 4 times. About $28,000 was charged to it. Last time I tracked down the source, but the police dept nor credit card company wanted to do anything about it. The bank just charged it off. I would like to know why the credit card company don't go after these people, by charging the money back to them the merchant. The vendor may be a lot more concerned about the well being of their customers.

To catch an ID thief

barbara hutchins grafton vermont — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 02:22:38 GMT

my husband and myself have recently became victims to I.D. theft as of last tuesday how ironic it is that this show was on one week after the fact just our luck. well some how someone got our number to a visa/debt card made a fake card went to a walmart supercenter in RENO NEVADA... spent over 1000.00 which 600.00 of was in gift cards that walmart cancelled out when I....... found out which one in that area it was and at the same time they did this my husband had tryed o use his card here in vermont and was not able to be cause of suspcious activity obviously!!!!!!!!!!!! clear across the country then after talking to the bank and finding all this out they tried to buy more stuff at a dillards store and were not able but dillards reps. say that the WOMEN that did this paid with a nother card so wheather they paid with theres or someone elses i guess is up to reno pd to maybe find out but even with that info and the find survalance of these women they say they may never be able to catch them THIS JUST DON'T SEEM RIGHT WHERE'S OUR JUSTICE THESE PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD STEAL OUR MONEY AND WE HARDLY EVER GET JUSTICE WHY WHY WHY ????????????????

To catch an ID thief

mrfood — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 02:25:02 GMT

Someone suggested using a pin number or no charge, but as long as people are greedy that wont happen and the government doesnt care

To catch an ID thief

Jan Pelchat, Amherst, NH — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 02:25:09 GMT

When I got married in 1994, I sent all the wedding invitations and received all the replies from my rural mailbox. So when my new credit cards arrived with my name and address change, imagine my surprise when one of the first cards I received had already been used - by the mail deliverer! She/he used it, then put it right back in the envelope. It was obvious to me that person had been watching for just such mail in order to use my card and deliver it as though nothing had happened. That person spent over $300 at Toys R Us, and another $485 at a specialty fishing supply store. Of course, by the time I became aware of the charges, no one would do anything about it. That was before cards had to be activated by calling from your home phone or some other security process. (I am NOT talking about my current Town!)

To catch an ID thief

Holly J — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 02:25:33 GMT

I loved your show as I do them all. I am really distrubed by all of this and recently found out that a mutual friend got her purse stolen last year. Afterwards she proceeded to check her credit after her SS card was stolen, but never bothered to check her kids that were taken as well. I don't understand what she is thinking. The excuse is it can't happen to them! I hope she saw your broadcast and will take steps to assure that the credit of her children is untouched. This show hopefully opened a lot of eyes.

To catch an ID thief

A concerned member of unnamed site above. — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 03:53:54 GMT

Chris, great job on your Part One of this story. You need to also investigate all the scammers that have taken over hacking on a certain large on-line auction site. These same scammers are infiltrating the servers on that site, and getting into peoples auctions, leaving re-directs which users think are the actual auction company, but in fact are the scammers theirselves. That is where alot of the private info with passwords and id' names are being gleaned from.

To catch an ID thief

Stan, Phoenix, Az — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 03:54:18 GMT

I was scammed by someone dumpster diving at the post office trash can where I and many others were throwing their "junk mail." The thief turned it into gold, by changing my p.o. box number to one of his in another city. He used a change of address card and also changed it on the computer. He used those blank checks that banks send out to creditworthy customers and was able to cash them for $9000. Despite the po inspector working on it, he still hasn't been caught. It is very easy to do and there are no safeguards to prevent this. Federal legislation is necessary to combat it.

To catch an ID thief

Bklopf — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 03:55:42 GMT

The show was a true eye opener for everybody. Identity theft is growing by leaps and bounds. I have been a victim of identity theft personally. Watch a very informative online presentation about identity theft at http://www.pplmadeeasy.com/jgardner/jason1620/jwhitewing@comcast.net I looking forward to the next show to see how you could actually track these thieves down.

To catch an ID thief

Cindy- Thermal California — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 03:56:18 GMT

I have had mine identity stolen twice out of my mail box 1st time - with an unlocked mail box, just like the billion i see everyday all over America (easy picking) It took me over a year to get good credit again 2nd time - I got a custom locking mail box made, think that would work and during the day someone used a wood stick and chewing gum to pull mial out of my mail box! can you believe? True! and then they used the checks sent by my credit card company to put in a new kitchen floor in their home. I wanted to fallow through with charges on both parties and never once would the police take a report. they said "they had bigger cases to chase" Well every little crime adds up and if you think it's the credit card companies that get hit for the cost your wrong! they pulled the aproved charged back out of the small flooring company that did not know they were dealing with theif. so this kind of crime is paid for by the Ma & Pa stores of America! what a shame! it's a huge crime footprint and the police and credit card companys are doing nothing to catch the theifs *****SO TODAY! EVERYONE IN AMERICA GO GET A WELDER TO MAKE YOU A STRONG,LOCKING,DEEP ANGLED WITH A VISOR MAIL BOX! PAINT IT A COLOR TO MATCH YOUR HOUSE AND MAKE IT BLEND IN ****HOT TIP #11**** it's been 4 safe years and hopefully many more (:

To catch an ID thief

John D., St. George, UT — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 03:57:25 GMT

Finally, someone has the patience and the resources to expose a major problem we ALL are paying for. Even if most of us have not been a direct victim of I.D. theft, we all pay for this kind of fraudulent activity an many different ways. We pay directly in the interest rates and fees charged by the CC companies to cover their losses as they are affected financially by each fraudulent charge. I guess it is easier for them to "pass along" those criminal charges to each and every one of us than to actually try to prevent such activity from ever happening in the first place! We also pay through law enforcement and soon (if not already) in National Security cost as this type of activity could easily be funding our radical enemies. Of course, to all of you who have been a direct victim, you know how much time and energy -- not to mention money -- is involved in ATTEMPTING to fix your credit and finances. I just hope the CC companies and Feds learn something from this show.Thank you for such a great episode! Make this a regular subject... it'll help wake up a lot of people, government, and corporations!

To catch an ID thief

Sue Hucke, Cherryvale, Kansas — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:01:00 GMT

We also had our credit card number stolen. I discovered this when I went to my online account to check my balance. I immediately called Capital One and canceled the card, then went online and got the phone number of the business where the charge had been made and told them it was fradulent. It was a furniture store in Houston and we live in Kansas, but the furniture had not been picked up so I told them not to let it go and I called the Houston PD and reported it. Then a fraud detective went to the store and also told them to hold the furniture, so as it ended up, no one lost anything. Capital One reversed the charges to the store, and the store still had their furniture. It was a scary experience.

To catch an ID thief

Vicki H, Helena, MT — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:02:50 GMT

Thank you so much for doing this. Recently, my Aunt in Nevada had her identity stolen by someone in Italy. At the same time we had written a check and paid off a credit card. It cleared the bank, we just never got credit for it. All of this is so scary. Thank you again for taking the time to inform people.

To catch an ID thief

Chris Boaz — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:03:02 GMT

Thank you for bringing to light a situation that has become an epidemic. Please let your viewers know there is only one company in north america who completely monitors and if necessary restores your identity. www.callourlawyer.com

To catch an ID thief

George, Brooklyn, NY — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:04:56 GMT

I work for a major bank in the New York City area. I see victims of i.d. theft almost every day. One piece of advice I might give is, pay attention to your bank and credit card statements every month. Notify the bank immediately when you see something unusual. Check your credi report periodically and add a fraud alert. Banks will refund you any money lost when a transaction was not done by you. Also, if you receive an email or phone call asking you to verify or validate information, be carefull. Banks will not ask you to do that. If a bank rep is calling then they already the info in front of them. I could go on but you just have to be carefull and ask the extra question.

To catch an ID thief

Barbara, Sun City, Arizona — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:05:07 GMT

Hello, I am Barbara from Arizona. I had my identity stolen from my online banking account in Feb of 2007. The "Hackers" apparently got into my sign on and password when they were on line while I was signing on - tho hackers can get anything online. Anyway they transferred $50thousand out of my Line of Credit account to my checking account and proceeded to set up and make payments to credit cards - 5 of them. Of course I knew after thinking about this that they were probably crediting the credit cards so they could spend the money they had credited - and the credit cards I'm sure were stolen anyway. I do "billpay" online so they would have had to set up the stolen credit card numbers to transfer them to. There was also a name on the billpay that was supposed to receive some monies. I looked his name up on google and his name came up that he is a Pygmi Preacher in the Congo - preaching to Pygmies. I also had to report all of this to the 3 credit reporting agencies. The bank took care of returning and stopping the payments to the credit card accounts. I caught the online banking scheme quickly as when I was trying to sign on the site the site would not allow me to use my sign on and password. They instructed me to call the fraud phone number for online banking. The bank was able to stop payment on all of the fraudulant accounts. I changed all of my signons and passwords, closed my accounts and opened new ones, asked the bank to not allow a view of my Home Equity Line of Credit on my banking on line. I asked them to also change my Line of Credit account number. This has been a real hassle and I could be paranoid that it will happen again. But I have taken all the necessary precautions and am still doing online banking. Thank you for doing the story tonight I was waiting for the man's name to appear that was on my billpay account. I at least know that I am ot alone - even tho my bank said they had never heard of this happening to anyone and wondered if I had given anyone my numbers etc - or opened a pfishing email... which I had not. I know better about that as my son is a computer engineer and tells me things to not touch, and that is one of them.

To catch an ID thief

Darren Reynard — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:08:48 GMT

My Ebay account was hacked into and someone was selling fake Gucci purses under my account. I first became aware of this when I tried logging into my ebay account and it was locked out. I then noticed selling conformations for ended auctions in my email. I contacted Ebay and after they did some investigating they cleared my account and restored it back to 100% positive feedback. I had recieved a lot of complaints from the scammers customers saying the pursed they got were fake. I was surprised that anything was even mailed out since the crooks already got their money. One email from someone said they lived in china! I was lucky that I didn't lose any money or my identity in a worse way. I still do not know how my account was compromised.

To catch an ID thief

Amina Slider, Los Angeles, CA — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:09:39 GMT

Dateline you are awsome! I had my identiy stolen and the person opened up a bank account with my ID. Then they burned the bank on a loan they had recieved. Whenever I open an account my S.S. number is checked and verified. Why didn't "Bank of America" do this with the person that stole MY identity!! It would have saved a lot of problems. Please investigate this, I have some information on the person and have even filed a police report but NO ONE is helping me bring this person to justice.

To catch an ID thief

Veronica Ramirez, Fresno, CA — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:13:59 GMT

March 24, 2007 my debit card numbers were used for purchases online that were not Authorized by me. I called the 800 numbers listed on my bank statement and was able to cancel some out, they also told me they had a shipping address and name that was used for the purchase but they were not able to give me the persons information for privacy of the person which does not make sense. One particular purchase was used to buy an inmate some supplies in jail, I am very angry at this situation but then relived because the bank is refunding my money back . I made a police report.

To catch an ID thief

James M. Lexington, Ky — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:15:16 GMT

Please help me!! My grandfather is being scammed right now as we speak and we can not make him understand. One year ago my grandfather met a guy in Lexington, KY named "sammy" who claimed to be an "importer/exported" who needed his help to purchase and sell Dell Computers to his friend in Africa who has a computer store. After my Grandfather shipped the computers he was told the store went out of business and never recieved payment. Now "sammy" is back and he has convienced my Grandfather that he now represents "The Christian School of Africa" who has asked "Sammy" to bid out 30 Dell Computers for thier new computer lab. And Sammy has choosen my Grandfather as the Supplier. Now my Grandfather has purchased 30 computers and shipped 20 of them to Africa. No payment has been recieved and they are asking for his bank account number and routing number in order to wire him the money. Right now he has over $35,000 in debt to his credit cards because of this scam. And the worse part is that he still does not realize he is being dooped. Sammy still visits him everyday. This importer/exporter does not even have a car, he rides his bike to my Grandadd's house. I wish we could bust this SOB con artist!!!

To catch an ID thief

Lisa — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:15:46 GMT

I would like to help the man who appeared on your show tonight, he was scammed and lost all of his savings. Can I dontate some money to help him? Please let me know how I can get some money to him.

To catch an ID thief

Sherry, Fayetteville, Arkansas — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:16:09 GMT

My husband had his identiy stolen in 2002, we have been working ever since to try to get his credit cleared up. In 2002 we went to try to buy a house and we were told that my huband had a collection on his credit, which was a suprise to us considering we didnt have anything with the company. Upon checking his credit at that time we learned that someone had tried to open over 100 credit card accounts in my husbands name. We were in shock. We ended up going to the Social Security Administation to make sure that this person wasnt working under my husbands Social Security number, lucky for us they werent but the Social Security Administation decided that because of the large number of accounts that were attempted to be opened that my husband needed a new Social Security number. Yes, my husband now has two Socials and talk about a mess! We were able to finally get the collection removed from his credit and put fraud alerts on everything. Then in 2003 it happened again, with a fraud alert on his credit, the person started using his old Social again. Again we we able to get the collection removed. Then in 2004 it happened for the third time, this time the person was not able to open up accounts online due to the fraud alert however he did go into the actual stores and recieve credit again with a fraud alert. This time he was about to purchase over $10,000.00 in jewlery. After months of fighting we did get the items removed and proved that we were not responsable for the charges. In the last 5 years we have filed countless police reports, fraud alerts all for nothing. The fraud alerts are ignored no one has ever contacted us when he has tried to open an account. Finally in 2005 we finally got a break the guy started to sign his name to one of the slips used in 2004, and he ended up using an old address of his, so the police were able to track him down from that and he was identified by store employees as the person who had opened the accounts. A warrent was issued in 2005, he was finally arrested in 2007 and let go on $250,000.00 bond he has a trial date coming up if he hasnt already disappered. We have no idea who this guy is we have never met him he is in Colorado and we live in Arkansas, he his black my husband is white. I just dont understand how something like this could not only happen once but keep happening for over 5 years and nothing be done about it. We were treated like criminals and ignored by police etc. At one point I was even told basically the only way to make it stop is to totally destroy my husbands credit. Nice!

To catch an ID thief

Christopher D Vargas — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:18:40 GMT

Dear Chris Hanson, I have one of those phishing letters/links from what looks like my bank. When I opened the link it looked legit, but when for some reason it just didn't feel right. I called the bank right away to see if they had sent the link to my email. Sure enough they did not and told me to ignore it. I told all of my co-workers and printed it up to show them, but I got the feeling that they didn't care. I got the feeling that they were under the impression that it wouldn't happen to them. I hope your message gets through to all the viewers. If your team is interested and wants to post it on a future to catch an Id thief let me know. Chris of San Diego

To catch an ID thief

Peter P from Santa Ana ,Ca — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:19:36 GMT

Today- my Washington Mutual checking account was ripped with 2 charges for over $ 1000.00 I'm depressed

To catch an ID thief

Kathy Calderon, Monterey, CA — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:20:41 GMT

Great job Chris! It's probably not easy to confront these creeps and you are really good at it. I usually do not watch TV but I'll watch any of these "to catch a ...." and I'll buy whatever the adds are selling (I never do this!) just so you guys don't take it off the air. This is the kind of programming we need rather that the senseless reality shows. Keep it up NBC! And you are lucky to have Chris!

To catch an ID thief

Brunner, IL — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:22:27 GMT

AT LAST!!! I work in the Bad Debt/Fraud Department for a large computer company and this is a daily battle we fight. Chris's story is accurate but the thing is fraud is an ever changing creature and you'd be amazed at how crooks are getting past merchants. Chris is only at the tip of the iceberg right now. Someone above mentioned pins or restrictions for out of country purchases - crooks can get the pins (Hello - Ever heard of the security codes on the back of cards? Waste of time) and as for overseas -- That's why they find a mule here in the US to accept packages -- The really scary thing is that Chris only talked about those people who you are thinking are fools for accepting packages but in reality they might be delivered to your door everyday while you at work an you'd never know...I hope Dateline keeps working this story because there is a LOT to tell!

To catch an ID thief

no name — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:22:42 GMT

Fighting an identity theft for a week. cleaned my account out in a day. Theaf had items shipped to san jose CA. Im in IN.

To catch an ID thief

John N. long beach, Ca — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:23:58 GMT

Your show has really opened my eyes. Thank you and Great job Chris.

To catch an ID thief

Jane Doe, Reno,Nevada — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:25:06 GMT

We were victims of credit-card theft.It took about a month before we noticed something strange on our bank statement. We live in Nevada,these charges of $3800.00 were charged in the east coast (4)states,on sex toys by an 18 year old gal on AOL. I notified the bank, as I did all the merchants (including AOL)in these states. What a hassel of spending all day on the phone trying to protect our credit card identity. With some patient effort, I got it straigtened out! Now, nothing is kept on the computer. Talk about violating my legal rights, when it comes to CC,there is none.

To catch an ID thief

Jackie Smith Reno, NV — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:25:31 GMT

AMAZING!!!!! I am amazed at how fast scammers will scam and I am also amazed at how gullible the "middle man/woman can be.

To catch an ID thief

Ram from Fremont, CA — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:26:27 GMT

Chris, I love this show. I have closed my Paypal account a year ago and also luckily closed that Credit Card which is charged through Paypal. Still I receive Fraud-alerts from Paypal that my account has been charged but not less than $300 anytime. I received the Fraud-alerts for atleast 10 times after I closed the account.

To catch an ID thief

Jane Doe, Reno,Nevada — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:28:01 GMT

To catch an ID thief

Donna Salazar California — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:28:17 GMT

My father was air lifted to another town after a heart attach. We took my Mother to the town of Modesto and stayed in a few hotels to be near him. He had a quad bypass at 80 years old. At one of the hotels I jumped out and used my credit card to rent a room. Thats all it took..when we went home that Sunday someone had used my credit card to purchase over $8000.00 worth of items. When I made the police report they said this is happening all the time!! They took my credit card info. and made a credit card and a pin number and in 2 days these charges were on my card. I went on my computer to make sure I had enough funds to cover another week of hotels and discovered the charges. I was devistated. I called the 800 number and cancelled my card and my husbands card. We have used the VISA debit card for years and never had a problem. The police said they will check with the different stores and look at surveylance cameras and would I testify if they were caught. OF COURSE I WILL. Resturants and hotels are not safe anymore to use these cards. You can't believe the grief we went through with no credit card they don't want to give you a room..you can't rent a car. I live in Livermore California and I know where my card was used in Modesto and it is a large chain hotel. I wish I could use the name of the hotel but I don't want to interfere with the investigation. Beware if you ever go to Modesto, California and rent a room.

To catch an ID thief

Lisa San Francisco, Ca — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:29:59 GMT

I would like to help the man who appeared on your show tonight, he was scammed and lost all of his savings. Can I dontate some money to help him? Please let me know how I can get some money to him.

To catch an ID thief

Sharon J — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:31:41 GMT

Regarding your investigation on to catch a thief...I was one of them for years, while under the influence of meth, until I was caught and spent almost 2 years in state prison. I am a tax paying, hard working citizen again and am the first one to let someone know when they are doing something they opens them up to identity thieft. Your reports help open society eyes and ultimately help people protect themselves. Kudos to you!

To catch an ID thief

talktotennessee — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:32:53 GMT

I've been a victim twice, forced to close business accounts and open new ones each time. Banking online, I check charges daily, which helps catch the problem quicker. By the time written notice can be sent, the charges can be astronomical, overdrafted and untraceable. The first theft was almost certainly traced to a credit card phone order for a pizza. I no longer give my card to pizza delivery. The second time I believe my account was tapped after paying a Shelby County tax bill online. I don't know how it is accomplished but both times, within hours or days, charges in excess of $1,000 came through for a debit from the same source. Can you tell me how they do it? Are they opening new accounts or merely using the card info to purchase through their inside source? If this continues to mushroom,a change in card use or card security measures are imperative.

To catch an ID thief

Ed M., Bellevue, WA — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:34:48 GMT

We run an e-commerce site and are constantly having scammers trying to rip us off all the time. Fortunately, we've only lost a few hundred dollars over the last few years, but we could have lost thousands if we had not been more vigilant.

To catch an ID thief

sharon — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:35:31 GMT

Chris what you are doing is wonderful...but we ,the little people need help. My identity has been stolen and twice I have tracked the person down and turned them over to the police. I have done all the investigating and with the fair credit reporting act I have been able to get proof, however no one will help. I've been told ,"you're not out enough money" and "we're too busy to prosecute". The latest is "the attorney general may not prosecute because he does not want to step on the state's attorneys toes" When will the average citizen be able to prosecute for the loss of their credit, the stress it causes and the time it takes to clear their name?? These criminals have rights and the victims have none.

To catch an ID thief

Bobby Harris — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:36:31 GMT

The first step from protecting yourself from online identity theft is knowing how much of your personal information is available online. It does no good to order a credit report to find out if you are already a victim. Thats like visiting the coroner to see if your dead. You want to prevent ID theft before it happens. You need to find out how much of your info is out there on the internet waiting to be stiolen by ID thiebes BEFORE they get a chance to steal it. you need to use a service like the Online Rish assessment at www.emailrevealer.com to find out where you are vulnerable so you can prevent becoming a victim.

To catch an ID thief

Bonnie, southern Calif — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:37:03 GMT

Two years ago upon returning from vacation I received a phone call from my bank asking about a purchase from DIGITAL AGE that was made on my bank's Visa card . They were concerned because it was an 'out of the ordinary' type purchase. However, I had my bank's MasterCard. They were in the process of changing from MC to Visa but I had not yet received the new card. They put a stop on the 'new' card and issued another one which I requested that I pick up at the bank. They agreed. The 'business', Digital Age Cyprus, appeared to be in Sweden. Thanks for an informative program. Identify theft seems all too common nowadays.

To catch an ID thief

gina zaslov hollywood, ca 90068 — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:38:02 GMT

Just last week I was a victim of identity theft. Had just deposited my paycheck that friday by monday I had over $1,500 in ATM cash withdrawals of $500. per day. Please continue your crusade on exposing these low lives. I have filed a police report but from the officer who took it, I am in a very very long line of victims.

To catch an ID thief

Jhordan Canfield, Las Vegas, NV — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:38:57 GMT

Hi Chris. I think the work you’re doing is fantastic. Keep it up. However , it now appears that you are globalizing your work. I am a geography teacher with travels around the world. I believe one failing of Americans is to underestimate the mentality, both religious and ethical, of other nationalities. I still think that as Americans we tend to think we’re safe all the time. Be safe out there. Jhordan Canfield Bishop Gorman HS Las Vegas, NV

To catch an ID thief

Jennifer Godfrey, Snohomish, WA — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:42:52 GMT

I am writing to thank Chris Hansen for investigating ID theives. I was a victim back in 7/2000 and my case was never solved. My fraud happened as the result of stolen mail. Although I lived in a secured apartment building assigned to a locked mailbox, the theives had stolen keys to obtain all of the residents mail in the building. At the time, I banked with Wells Fargo and they were terrible to deal with throughtout the entire investigation. I was out of thousands for months. I wound up changing my last name because the theives had obtained my driver's license number on a piece of mail that had been sent to me from the DMV. What a nightmare. I still wonder if someone is out their committing a crime under my former name. Thank you again Chris Hansen for taking on the ID theives.

To catch an ID thief

Jeanne, Las Vegas, NV — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:46:19 GMT

I've recently moved to Las Vegas and had posted my resume on Monster.com. I was sent, from monster, or so I believed, a potential job lead. A company called Orthocraftus, that was looking for a "rep" for their company, here in the US. They wanted to deposit $, thru a wire transfer, into my account. I'd take a 10% commission as a fee, and then send the balance, minus fees for the Western Union, to a designation of there choice. Everything looked pretty legal, as they sent me a contract with there authorization to do this here in the US. Needless to say, I gave them my bank info. To my surprise, withing 40 min, they had deposited $1000 USD into my account and sent me an email with the information of who to send the $ to, which was in the UK. Anyways, I thought about it, even went and withdrew the $ and went to western union. I started talking to the person and telling them my story and they told me that it sounded like a scam and they had seen in on dateline, but out of Canada, or something. They even had information about it posted there, in the store. I got scared and went back to my bank and told them the story. They told me that the $ was in the account, but that it was posted very suspiciously into my accoutn. Anyways, we deposited the $ back into the account and only left the $1000 USD in there. The person at the bank told me that she too believed it was a scam and that they'll probably do a reversal on the account and if I would've sent the $, I would've been out of it, because then the bank would be negative those funds. She put an alert in with the security and/or fraud department, at the bank and she'll let me know what happened. Then, I get home and see this tonight dateline on "To catch a Thief". I feel very lucky that I stop and thought about it, before I went ahead and just did it. I kinda feel stupid now. The funny think is, that they're still sending me emails asking me if I sent the $ and what the control number is. This all happened today. I only wish I could help in catching these people before they get someone else and really do some damage. I was lucky, or atleast, so far. I hope this helps anyone that is considering doing this.

To catch an ID thief

Jane Doetoo, Van Nuys — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:46:41 GMT

Dateline does a good job at exposing criminals. If only the credit card company's would do a great job of protecting the law abiding. Seem's to me that the technology is here to ensure secure credit/debit cards. Isn't there either eye scanners or finger print scanners in use? Can't these be used in our every day life in and out of the home? Maybe it's time to make all of the company's that succum to the out right theft of their records (or personal info) responsible for our identities. Afterall, don't we first entrust them with it?

To catch an ID thief

Jane Doetoo, Van Nuys — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:47:34 GMT

Dateline does a good job at exposing criminals. If only the credit card company's would do a great job of protecting the law abiding. Seem's to me that the technology is here to ensure secure credit/debit cards. Isn't there either eye scanners or finger print scanners in use? Can't these be used in our every day life in and out of the home? Maybe it's time to make all of the company's that succum to the out right theft of their records (our personal info) responsible for our identities. Afterall, don't we first entrust them with it?

To catch an ID thief

Marie Curry, Laguna Beach, CA — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:48:38 GMT

Oh my gosh, what a eye-opening and frightening insight your show gave me. Chris Hansen you are awesome. Thanks for your efforts to inform the public about this type of scam. I will most certainly make sure I take the proper precautions before it is too late.

To catch an ID thief

Joe S. Moore, Torrance, CA — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:51:57 GMT

I thoroughly enjoyed watching your show tonight and taped it for future reference. I would like to point some instances where our government and businesses try to make it easier for ID thiefs. If you go to the State of Colorado and wnat to obtain a fishing license: you have to give them your driver's license info and THEN your social security number. I refuse and just do without a fishing license. In California, in order to obtain electrical from SCE they try to get you to give your Social Security number which I refuse to do and give them a cash deposit instead. When are business and Government going to learn serious this ID theft is???

To catch an ID thief

DU, Oceanside, CA — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:53:25 GMT

I am glad to see this investigated. I have an unusual story, but one that people should be aware of. I had someone (unknown to me) schedule an online payment from my checking to pay down my credit card (cc) balance; $5,000. Don't ask me why but B of A paid it when I only had under $100 in my checking! After the cc was paid down, the thieves got $3,000 cash from the card and had it wired to a checking account, which was closed immediately after the funds were deposited. My checking account was -$4,900 and unfortunately I had my paycheck scheduled to be direct deposited into my checking the next day- YIKES! Couldn't stop it, so my paycheck was in the "negative balance" account along with the fraudulent cash withdrawal. It took me over a month to get everything sorted out and I was just glad I had a savings account in a separate bank to pay my bills during this time. It was all done online, I never took my cc out of my house. It made sense when I saw how thieves can get info on line. I have NO credit cards now and check my accounts regularly to make sure no one is hacking into them. Thanks Dateline, great that you are educating all of us.

To catch an ID thief

Marie Curry, Laguna Beach, CA — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:53:57 GMT

Where is the information on how to protect ourselves?

To catch an ID thief

Josh Kleinert Schofield Wis — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 04:59:33 GMT

i have someone saying they are a russin women named olga sending me pics and telling me she wants to stay with me. Making "Olga" sound like every man dream women... then that person started asking for money. And no I am not sending any.

To catch an ID thief

carmen,seattle wa. — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 05:06:21 GMT

This is a very sensible and very intelligent topic .I could'nt wait for the continuation, after watching DATELINE,I even check the website to read more infos. I'm very much worried because most of the time I use my cc even for small items, hope you can post the things that we need to do inorder to protect ourselves from identity theft.

To catch an ID thief

Mitch Apao, Rialto California — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 05:06:56 GMT

I own a locksmith company in California, I got a call requesting a lock order from Africa. It was a call via internet to landline operator assist call. someone was trying to buy 100 locks using a credit card to pay for the sale. I declined the offer and hung up. They called back around 20 times for the next two weeks. I still get calls from time to time and I have to tell them to kiss off!

To catch an ID thief

Kathy Smith, TX — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 05:07:08 GMT

My husband and I live 66 miles outside of San Antonio. On one of our occasional trips last year to S.A., our debit card number(not the card), was stolen. We had only visited & made purchases at three well known merchants and a local restaurant on the day is was stolen. Our bank statement showed purchases at stores, restaurants and gas stations all over S.A. starting the day after our trip that we had neither visited or authorized. Luckily we caught it fairly early and were reimbursed for our losses. My advice: Check your bank accounts often and BEWARE of dishonest employees.

To catch an ID thief

T Orlando Florida — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 05:09:56 GMT

This is a good step in the right direction, there is nothing worst than ripping people off. I was charged with fraud against businesses, I did not do what they accused me of, but this article helps people know the problems of online statements of there personal information. You have to understand that these kind of situations go on every day and its wrong.

To catch an ID thief

Kathy, Auburn Maine — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 05:12:10 GMT

On 2/28/07 I got 2 packages in the mail for things I hadn't ordered. I checked my credit union account online and found 5 charges, all for items under $10.00. I went right over there and they "captured" the debit card. After that, one more charge came through by a method called "forcing", becuase the credit union was still keeping the number active while waiting for the money to be returned. i wanted them to just close it, since I woudl only be out about 40 bucks. All the money was back withing a few more days and the thing closed. I now have a fraud watch on my credit. Nobody knows how they got the debit card number and street address, and nobody is going to find out, because of the small amount of money and the fact that the credit union recovered it all for me anyway. The theory is that someone was ordering the things so they could collect commissions through some kind of affinity program.

To catch an ID thief

Kathy again, Auburn Maine — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 05:16:44 GMT

For those asking, the info on how to protect yourself is on the story page at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17805134/ about halfway down the page.

To catch an ID thief

Not my real name so don't ID theft me, Santa Ana, CA — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 05:23:52 GMT

I think the guy realized he was talking to Chris Hansen as soon as he started talking about the other show. It was probably a subconscious recognition which became conscious when he vocalized it. That's why that woman accomplice didn't show up and why his story about getting $18k in his Paypal account changed to "he never got a cent". He did a bad job faking surprise when Chris Hansen revealed his true identity. I wonder if the cops checked his Paypal bank accounts to verify if he ever received large sums of money.

To catch an ID thief

Harry Downs — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 05:29:41 GMT

Are you not concerned that by posting this full story as it is happenning in real time, that your end result of catching the ID theft tinsters are also going to catch on and change directions or become idle for awhile changing effort you folks are trying to acommplish and catch them. I think it is a bit premature to give away the information of this serious topic. It might screw your effrots in the ultimate catch of Wendy or whomever you are trying to go after. I commend your efforts in this embattled topic. Good luck. Don't give away your logistics just yet. Keep it under wraps.

To catch an ID thief

Edward Cristobal, Newport Beach, Ca — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 05:41:23 GMT

If the big banks,department stores, police and other law enforcement bureaucrats can not do anything about this scums. Let's all help our selves. Avoid online purchases using credit cards. Let's try to tell the store clerks, tellers and all businesses concerned to check our identity very well before any transaction is finalized. Eventually they will have to do this if everybody is telling them to. It maybe a long shot but that's where we start. Edward

To catch an ID thief

Richard Montague — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 05:44:57 GMT

I was watching Dateline tonight about identity theft how large company's info was being stolen from them. I don't know if this is anything but, about 2 months ago I was checking some things on my credit report with Equifax. I told the women that the VA (Veterans Admin.) had paid the bill in question. She didn't seem to know who the VA was and so I said what's the matter are you from some other country. She said well yes,I said what country am I calling. She said that doesn't matter Equifax has the right to us any country they want to. She wouldn't talk about it any more. If you find this interesting maybe you can look into this. I sure would like to see what people in this country think about thier personal info being in some computor in some other country. My cell is (509) 348-0090 Thanks for taking your time to read this.

To catch an ID thief

Jerry — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 05:51:11 GMT

The general public just doesn't want to believe this is going on. There is a solution available for those that fall victim to this crime. The best time to enroll is before you know you are a victim! Be proactive, get the protection now with Identity Theft Shield from Pre-Paid Legal. prepaidlegal.com/idt/geraldrich

To catch an ID thief

JD, O'Fallon, Illinois — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 05:59:35 GMT

If you really want to crack down on scammers,you might want to check the Myspace classified sections in the computers section. You have people there trying to sell brand new name brand computers at a fraction of the cost, with you having to send them payment first to a drop address and you never get the product. Or you can go into a Yahoo chat room called the Hackers Lounge and you will see people coming in daily trying to sell bank logins and stolen credit cards. Everyday ive seen people posting credit card numbers and and personal information that went with those credit cards in those chat rooms. People use Paypal to cash out stolen credit cards, from what i understand and make a big business from it.

To catch an ID thief

Nancy Jones — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 06:00:56 GMT

Give us the ways to AVOID credit card theft...if that is even possible.

To catch an ID thief

mynameis Canadian, Vancouver Island Canada — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 06:07:20 GMT

Thanks for a show like this. I will be more diligent in making my password harder to crack. We already shred everything with our names on it. Also I'm going to stop entering online contests. THANK YOU!!!!! keep up the great work!

To catch an ID thief

Gary Mier, Sonora, Ca. — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 06:12:59 GMT

I thought this episode of internet thieves was great & much needed. It seems amazing that victims never seem to get justice without having to pay for it. I always thought it's suppose to be, to serve & protect, that's what all of us tax payers pay for, I guess if you can't afford it you won't get it. It seems like the system's right there to take your money with no problem when they think you are in the wrong, ie: my brother was convicted of a dui at a bac of .07 which is under the legal limit to dive in this state of Ca. Now he's made to pay fines, fees & to pay to go to a 18 mo. useless course, just to get more revenue. later last year, he had a musical amp. stolen from a yard sale and reported it, nothing ever came of it. then he was at a local pawn shop and found it, he told the pawn shop about it & gave all the info. on the amp., (even had his personal info. engraved on the unit) to the sheriff's dept. A call or two later this year & still has not heard from anybody & still does'nt have his amp. back. This is march of 2007. No revenue from victim = No justice.

To catch an ID thief

Brown Man, NJ — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 06:19:07 GMT

Chris, Seriously.....you're like a super hero. I saw your show tonight and I must say that I was impressed. I work in the banking industry and identity theft is a constant problem which effect too many people. Hopefully your report will help to strike fear in the hearts of those after our money (just like a super hero!) Keep up the great work.

To catch an ID thief

Bert Wright, Hesperia, CA — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 06:20:58 GMT

Very powerful information on tonight's show. I believe that many people on your show are lost and frustrated as to what their options in cases such as what is mentioned on your show. I want to refer you to two websites: www.thewrightperson.com and www.yourlegalwright.com for information on services available to protect consumers and businesses. Not only are consumers at risk of identity theft, but businesses as well, furthermore they could be held liable for damages to the consumer. It is time the consumer becomes empowered and protect themselves. Check out the info on the websites. Very powerful!!

To catch an ID thief

UW, Cleveland, Ohio — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 06:21:12 GMT

I.D. Theft must be depressed in Ohio because the BMV, in their infinite wisdom, now requires the auto owner’s month and day of birth on the license plate sticker. Another readily available source would complete the DOB with the person’s age, or it could even be guessed. Looking to see where that car is parked at night gives an address, and their garbage probably gives a name and a social security number. This is probably a new strategy to stimulate the Ohio economy along with boosting sales and income tax revenue. By Ohio providing job assistance to thieves, they would naturally expect the thieves to return the favor by living and shopping in Ohio and paying Ohio income tax. However, If this still proves to be too much work for thieves, next year expect to see social security numbers also included on license stickers including lease vehicles.

To catch an ID thief

Judi smarts marquette, mi — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 06:50:29 GMT

Jeff Ball is a looser.. thinks that a pretty model will marry him by only having contact online. What a silly man. I bet you could sell him the brooklyn bridge too.. and the two women who thought they were going to marry some good looking guy.. what loosers.. any one that would meet someone online and recieve electronic goods.. and they acted like they didn't have a clue.. get real people.. You are living a fantasy.. it ain't gonna happen

To catch an ID thief

David W. Wilbert Riverside, California — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 06:55:23 GMT

My name is David W. This past week I checked my checking account to see how much money I had in my account. To my surprise, I had a -$534.47 in my account. Not only had all my money been drained, but my bank automatically used my over-draft protection of $270.00 to cover charges that caused my account to go negative. These people used my correct billing address, however they used a shipping address in Texas that I was actually able to get from one of the companies where the thieves charged $520 +- and tried to have delivered. Then they even opened up a Netzero account in my name - by the way, I'll never use Netzero...out of all the charges made to my account, Netzero was the ONLY account that REFUSED to reimburse my account the $9.95...go figure but Netzero flat out REFUSED to refund it even though they were told it was fraudulently charged. Netzero was even VERY RUDE and transferred me about 4 or 5 times...I also had a dietary supplement that was going to be shipped to a Texas address...and make-up form women. I am probably one of the fortunate ones, every company EXCEPT Netzero refunded my money when they could not verify why the shipping address was not the same as the billing address! So, yes I did get my money back - but how'd you guys like to have the address to that Texas location to see if you could track these jerks down???

To catch an ID thief

Judy - Beaverton, Oregon — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 06:58:12 GMT

Chris Hansen does rock. Thank you for programs like this. I mostly have questions as why the police don't want to do more? Can a ID theft program be set-up to help citizens. We have no place to go. Seven years ago I was just taking a walk. I thought it was safer to leave my wallet in the car than on my person. The car got broke into, and my wallet stolen. They used my cards. I had low limits. One credit card company was mad at me, because they said the police won't do anything, so they dropped me and put a nasty mark against my credit. Even though I did the footwork, and the store manager said she had info that was helpful, she had to give it to the police. I called the police for the 4th or 5th time, because they had told me they were very busy, which is why they didn't have any info for me, I called to let them know I had something helpful. They told me, they were not going to help me, to leave them alone. My social security card was in my wallet to. Nothing has come of it, other than my accounts being used to charge things, which they were closed, but I don't know if they ever got them or not. I do know, from news reports, 29 other people cars were broke into, and 2 women raped in the park. When I was walking in the park, I picked up on someones thoughts, she is going to get raped. I prepared myself for a fight. I strongly beleive if the police had taken it more seriously, less cars and the 2 women might have escaped being harmed. I have recieved 2 phishing scams, I notified the banking org. because they looked odd. Why did I recieve the phishign scam? I recieved in the mail, a form from Spain,I think, for an update on my banking info, which not only asked for my personal info, they wanted my relatives names and address's. I called the police, hoping they would want to work with the info, to track down the bad guys. NO - they were not interested. WHY! Where do citizens go. If the government wanted to form a task force I would love to be on it, and track the bad guys, but then where do you put them, if the police don't want to do anything? Hey Chris if this sounds interesting to you, let me know. I would love to do this. Or heres another show, ask the police why they won't help, and what can citizens do about it.

To catch an ID thief

Lindsay Hubbard, Deland , Florida — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 07:06:19 GMT

Just one question ... if you can set this up and follow their trail, why can't our legal system do it too ? Billions of dollars isn't worth going after these people ? The trail has to end somewhere .. Thanks Chris for all your great work .. P.S Please send this video to law enforcement .

To catch an ID thief

Judy - Beaverton, Oregon — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 07:15:29 GMT

I wanted to add one thing, in Portland, a gentlemen who works at a TV station, noticed on his bank statment small amounts of money such as .20, 22 cents were being tranferred. He was lucky, that he had checked that day. He called the bank and found out, someone was setting up his account to start making transfers. He recommended people check their accounts every few days to look for odd things that might stop them from being scammed.

To catch an ID thief

Jeff Jones, Reno, Nevada — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 15:41:26 GMT

The content was great, and very informative, BUT, those trick camera angles, fast-forwards, quick flashes of scenes, distorted images, blurry images, etc., were very irritating and did nothing to make the program more appealing, or more accurately convey the message. All that was a waste of video in my opinion.

To catch an ID thief

mary morgan, milwaukee,wi — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 15:46:53 GMT

that happened to me in 2006 only with a guy telling me he loved me,so give me your address so he could send me something,ya a brunch of mens clothes and 2 cell phones came ups,so i sign,thinking they were for me.but then the bill was in my name and the address too but different credit card #.well i figured it out and returned everything and tryed to explained to the stores.i also went to the police,filed a report and did what i was suppose to do.

To catch an ID thief

B. Montoya, Mesa, AZ — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 15:47:59 GMT

Coincidentally after seeing your Dateline show last nite on identity theft I received a call this morning from 1-800-457-3732 asking for my mother's maiden name. When I refused the person from "Card Services?" became indignant and said, "sir I have your name here and your phone #, why can't you cooperate and give me your mother maiden name so I can verify who you are". I refused and called the bank that issued the cc and they agreed that they would not be calling to verify any information. Maybe with the phone # you can investigate this co.

To catch an ID thief

Jena Smith, Melbourne, FL — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 15:48:25 GMT

What a wonderful job Chris did exposing Identity Theft to the public. I am a Loss Prevention Manager with one of the largest retailers and I am involved with people who have their identity stolen on a daily basis. It ruins people's lives and most of the time they do not know where to turn. I am also an Independent Associate with Pre-Paid Legal Services Inc. I wanted to find a solution for these victims and PPL is the company that I found. They provide Identity Theft solutions and also Pre-Paid legal services that every American needs. I believe this in the depths of my soul. 1.2 million American families already have this protection and the rest of the American public needs the safety and security that PPL can provide. My email address is jenasmit@yahoo.com if anyone wants anymore information. I also have a website, www.prepaidlegal.com/hub/jenasmith that can give details about the plans offered, the companies history and stories of the Americans already helped. Please post this message so that the public can be aware of their options to be protected against Identity Theft.

To catch an ID thief

Shirley — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 16:01:42 GMT

Chris: I thoroughly enjoyed your show last night and I was totally shocked at the same time. Like many others, I just thought it was about someone stealing my credit card. Thank you so much for giving us so much information on identify theft and ways we can protect ourselves. I look forward to your next show on this topic. Keep up the good work.

To catch an ID thief

Danielle Miami, florida — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 16:19:27 GMT

I am pretty sure I have been scammed. I was approached by a company called "Skyline Finance" they wanted me to be a middle man & send packages to Russia. I thought it was a little odd, but I asked tons of questions and they assured me that everything was legit. They had me sign an agreement & agreed to pay me $1000 per month to recieve packages & send them to Russia. I sent about 6 packages & on the day I was supposed to be paid, I never got any money. The next day I tried to go on their website & it no longer exsisted, I tried emailing them & calling them...GUESS WHAT? The email address or phone number didn't exsist anymore. After watching dateline last night I realized what happened to me...I'm sure those items were purchased with stolen credit cards. Now I get credit card statements with other people's names addressed to my house. I am not sure what I should do...should I contact my local law enforcement? I have every email that I sent to them or that they sent to me...and where the packages were going to...PLEASE HELP...I need some anwsers

To catch an ID thief

Frank, Bronx, NY — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 16:34:50 GMT

Chris, As a former bank investigator and retired from law enforcement, I really appreciate this. Banks and credit card companies do not always care about the consumer. They just care about there own bottom line. You proved it can be done. Spend a little money and prosecute. They just want to write it off and raise interest rates to make up the difference.

To catch an ID thief

Maria R. — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 16:36:46 GMT

I used to work at a Credit Card company and many people who had their identity stolen would try and get a police report, only to be refused. DO NOT LET THIS HAPPEN! Often time, police departments will say they can't make reports and that credit card companies don't need them to help "solve" the case. THIS IS NOT TRUE. Pressure, pressure, pressure the police until the report is made. Oftentimes, that is the only proof that a crime has actually been committed. And if you know the person (even if it is family), do not be afraid to press charges. Many times, people will not press charges because it a family member. Not pressing charges will only hinder your attempts to get your money back.

To catch an ID thief

Robert A. Franco, Mansfield, Ohio — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 17:13:38 GMT

Most excellent work! I have another suggestion for you - you should look into our government as one of the largest facilitators of identity theft. Public records often contain personal information: names, addresses, social security numbers, and signatures. Yet, it has become common practice for our government officials to publish these records on their official Web sites and sell the records in bulk to corporations who sell the information for a profit. See this article for just one example... http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=it_in_government&articleId=9014632&taxonomyId=69&intsrc=kc_top In my opinion, the public records laws have not kept up with technology. The information that was once protected by practical obscurity and available only within the confines of our courthouses is now available for world consumption. Though it isn't illegal - it is certainly reckless and our own government continues to serve up to criminals our public information.

To catch an ID thief

Mark, Dallas, TX — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 17:15:37 GMT

Two observations about the episode. First it seems that one of the most cost effective things the credit card companies and banks could do would be to purchase the stolen IDs themselves. At $5 a pop I would assume it is much cheaper that any other alternative given their losses. Second, couldn't UPS / FEDEX / DHL identify potential drop sites fairly easily? It seems that they could use algorithms to identify patterns for follow up and forwarding on to authorities.

To catch an ID thief

Bruce Romano — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 17:19:45 GMT

I have found a company in Portland, OR that helped me so much when my identity was stolen. They did everything for me. They're called Identity Safeguards. About a year ago, my identity was stolen when someone hacked into my company's computers. They stole about 1,000 of our (the employees) confidential files from HR and our customer's confidential information. Identity Safeguards was in place with my company already, and they cleaned up the mess. They contacted the legal authorities, credit bureaus, everybody that needed to be contacted. I didn’t have to do any of the leg work. They do credit monitoring, and sent me newsletters to keep me up date with all the recent news about identity theft. I didn't have any money stolen, but my co-worker that did was reimbursed for the money she lost. These guys were awesome. Maybe spreading the word on this blog will help some of you out. I think you can sign up for them on their website. After reading all your stories, I think most of you many be interested in doing that -www.identitysafeguards.com/enroll.

To catch an ID thief

Paula Hunt, Los Angeles, CA — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 17:21:42 GMT

I really appreciated learning more about all the ways to protect me and my family from Identity theft. I have a family of four and three of us have already been victims. More recently I have been a victim. In November 2006, I noticed that all of my money disappeared from my checking account. I contacted my bank to find out that someone used my checking account number to pay their bills by phone. I found out what accounts were paid and who's names were on these accounts. It turned out to be my house keeper, to whom I had been paying by check. I reported my findings to the Los Angeles police department and to no avail, there was not ANY investigation done, even though I gave them her name, address and phone number. On my many attempts to follow up with the police dept., I was told by the detective on the case that he had a large case load and this was not top priority! Thus, this is why identity theft is one of the largest crimes in America. In March of 2007, I noticed more money missing out of my new account at the same bank. I looked on line only to learn that the same person was able to access my new account and continue to pay her bills with my checking account. The bank told me if she established these on-line payments with the old account, they would automatically take from the new account. Needless to say this is not what they told me originally. I have since changed banks. I went back to the Los Angles police department and made a complaint about the detective on the case and begged them to please stop this woman from using my identity. Here it is a month later and I have not heard back from the LA police department. I have again provided them with all the proof from the bank, along with this persons name, address, etc... It is no wonder that this problem persist in our country, if this is how the police handle these cases. One thing you said last night, which prompt this comment, was that these cases often go unsolved because they cannot track down the criminals, well in my case, I did everything, but drive them to her front door.

To catch an ID thief

Janet Lape — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 20:48:52 GMT

Chris Hanson is doing a great job! I sent an email to the post office asking if there are any shredding machines at the post offices. So people can shred junk mail. It would be a great service to all of us.

To catch an ID thief

Becky King — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 20:53:31 GMT

Chris, Keep up the good work. I think those websites that are selling our personal information are contributing to identify theft. By law and to help eliminate the ID problem, this should not be allowed. Please address this issue.

To catch an ID thief

Jennifer Schiller — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 20:58:31 GMT

I LOVED Chris Hansen's identity theft story; very impressive. My husband and I were victims of identity theft about 2 years ago. I am one of those really cautious people who shred EVERYTHING; if it has my name on it, it gets shredded. I was at the market buying a few groceries; I used my ATM card to make the purchase. You can imagine my surprise when the card was declined. I told the checker to please try it again because there is no way that my account would not cover $20 in groceries. She did, and again it was declined. I ended up using a different card and that one went through. As soon as I got home, I checked my bank account online; it showed that I had a balance of $3!! I checked the transaction history and found that someone had made $3,000 in withdrawls within the last 3 days from Las Vegas (I live in Southern CA). I immediately called the bank and was told by a banker that my husband's ATM card was used for the Vegas transactions. Since my husband rarely uses his ATM card, it wasn't too hard to figure out where his info was scammed; it was a gas station by our home. My husband used his ATM card at the pump. I did a little research and found that there were other victims in the area who had their identities compromised by the same gas station. I felt so violated by this experience. I couldn't believe that I could have fallen victim to such a scam.

To catch an ID thief

Diane Adams Longboat Key Florida — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 21:09:11 GMT

Thank you for this great reporting! I have been a victim one time. I renewed my Florida Drivers License online, using a credit card I rarely, if ever use. The way I found out that the number had been stolen, is because an electronics store owner called my home number and asked me if I made an online purchase from his store. He suspected the credit card was stolen, and decided to call to be sure. The scammer was stupid enough to place his order with an Iowa delivery address and my Florida phone number that I provided for the license renewal. Since I hadn't used the card in over a year, I suspect someone at the Florida DMV stole the number. Of course I made my complaint to the Florida and Sarasota County DMV with NO REPLY! Thank you again for this enlightening reporting! Look forward to next week!

To catch an ID thief

Stephen Boyle — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 21:21:32 GMT

I wonder why with all the other countries overseas and even America did you choose to go to Africa? I guess is just to give the black man another negative image by putting a black identity to CC fraud. You are a disgrace.

To catch an ID thief

Sharon Pensyl — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 21:21:33 GMT

I have been a victim of identity theft this year. I received a email from PayPal, I though, requesting that I update my information. With in 3 days my bank account was empty. The bank is not helping me get my money back since I gave the information out. It was taken out by Western Union. The bank sayid this is my fault for answering the fraudulent email. I did file a police report and forwarded the email to PayPal. But I probably will not recover my money unless I hare a Lawyer.

To catch an ID thief

Christina Hunt, Dallas Texas — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 21:28:26 GMT

I learned a valuable lesson just this week. They don't need your card to rip you off. They randomly generate numbers until they find one that works and then wipe you clean. I found this out when I logged into my banks website and realized I was $445 overdrawn on Monday. When I went to the bank to find out what the pending charges were about I was surprised to learn how much these people can charge in just one day. I'm not sure how long it will take for the bank to research the charges and put the money back into my account. I thought I was an informed consumer. Guess I thought wrong. They can get you coming and going. Last night's show caught my eye because I've had this experience this week. It was a real eye opener. Thank you Chris for spreading the message. We don't know what we don't know. Knowledge is power.

To catch an ID thief

Cheryl Valdosta, GA — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 21:28:52 GMT

My daughter is a student at the University of Georgia where students are REQUIRED to put their social security number on all papers handed in for every class. Many other students have access to the information. Her identity has been used twice (that we know of). I asked UGA when they were going to change this policy and was told it is difficult. There is no timeline. I think it is appalling that a major university makes it so easy for identity theft to occur. I thought all the universities had devised separate student numbers.

To catch an ID thief

Peggy- Clearwater, FL — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 21:44:37 GMT

Great topic since I just today I ALMOST wired almost 2K to Nigeria. I am recently divorsed so to help with expenses I was going to rent a room out in home in Clearwater, FL. I had signed up with "Roomates.com" and found a young lady who said she was from British Columbia & would like to rent my room out for $850.00 per month. She was supposed to move in this Friday 3/30th. She was currently working in Africa on assignment, said a client owed her money & she would have client send money. I received, UPS, a Cashiers Check for 4,888.00 from Navy Federal Credit Union. I checked Navy Fed Credit Union, routing number was the same...while I was wiring funds to Western Union I had a bad feeling..ran over to my Bank of America across the street...long story short...he scanned the check & said it appeared Fraudulant...well it was!!!! I immediatly went back over to Western Union & found my 2,000.00 had been sent...however...VERY LUCKY for me money had not yet been picked up by the "supposed Shipping Company"...I received frantic emails & calls via "IP Relay"...I scanned the western union form & copy of fradulant check to her...trying to give some benifit of doubt! STUPID ME!!!! iN RETROSPECT...after receiving her picture...e-mails I now can see that. I really wish you all may want to investigate her further. I have all e-mails, copies, supposed picture of her! Thank You! Peggy

To catch an ID thief

Sharon, Wash. DC — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 21:55:53 GMT

Please do more of these shows! I recently became a victim of this, thankfully one of my credit card companies called me very early on and I then acted quickly enough to prevent a lot of damage. This can happen to anyone...I used to think it would never happend to me (due to my work in the security field), and I was proven wrong.

To catch an ID thief

c sugar queens,ny — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 22:04:32 GMT

I saw the show, I was kind of relieved I was not the only victim because I felt so stupid. After last november my card was cleaned out,unaware of this I went shopping and the cashiers treated me as though I was using someone elses card.This is funny to me because the thief that used my card was free of difficulties.I thought I took every precaution but it appears they know every little step.

To catch an ID thief

Beth,Chicago, Il — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 22:05:43 GMT

After viewing your show I was shocked to be approached on line last nite by someone on my computer using the exact approach. Said he saw my personal ad. (terry4lover2)aka Terry Coleman. When he said he was in Africa i mentioned your show and the other end became completely quite. Hopefully more people are educated now after your program. Thank You

To catch an ID thief

Jack Green,Hale-Mich — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 22:12:11 GMT

It seems so simple it was mentioned before stop all transactions that are not being made in the cc holders home state -- especially foreign countries keep up the good work Chris

To catch an ID thief

Stacey B, Toronto, Ontario Canada — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 22:34:22 GMT

Wonderful to watch how quickly these scammers can work just to realize how easy it is. I'm known to be very careful with my one credit card and rarely use it, so the day I had used it to rent a room at a well known chain in Ottawa, Ontario, I wasn't paying attention when the guy behind the counter took my card and moved around the counter to 'ask' his co-worker if the room had been prepared etc. I was busy chatting with a friend but heard the comment he had made, thought it was odd but didn't think any more of it until two weeks later when I noticed through my online banking that my credit card balance was a bit high. I checked and there were charges for movie theatre tickets and book store sales in my area of Toronto. I called the credit card co. directly and the lady told me that they were made using an actual card. I had been 'skimmed'! That is when your card is swiped through another machine which grabs your info. A new card is made and fenced (sold) to someone in your area of town so that the credit co. doesn't notice anything odd. Thankfully I do my banking online and check my account every couple of weeks or so. It's very important to watch your balance and the transactions made on your credit card. I then had to contact the Canadian credit bureaus and add an extra security note to my credit so in the future if I require another credit card, they have to contact me personally at home or at work to verify that it really is me asking for the credit. I was lucky to catch this one early.

To catch an ID thief

CHRISTINA,ROCKLIN,CA — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 23:08:44 GMT

I HAVE BEEN GETTING EMAIL FROM PEOPLE FROM AFRICA AND UNITED KINDOM TELLING ME THEY WANT ME TOWATCH THERE KIDS WHEN THEY COME TO OUR CONTRY .ONE PERSON ALREADY SENT ME OVER 3 THOUSAND DOLLARS OF MONET ORDERS.I TOOK THEM TO THE POST OFFICE AND THEY SAID THEY WERE COUNTERFIET. I CALLED THE NUMBER ON THE FED EX PACKAGE THE PERSON THAT ANSWERED WAS NOT THE PERSON WHO SENT THE MONEY SHE CLAIMED SHE HAD HER AMERICAN EXPRESS STOLEN.I HAVE ALOT MORE THINGS IF YOU WRITE BACK

To catch an ID thief

SUSIE LEBLANC, PHOENIX, AZ — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 23:52:45 GMT

You have barely touched the surface. I suggest you start looking at the internet dating services. I had two guys within weeks of each other that I had suspiciosn about. I ran background checks and nothing. They both had African accents (I lived in Africafor a while so recognised it). Thier bahaviour was so unusual that I commented to my friends that I was pretty sure they were Nigerian money scammers. I reported them ot the dating website and FBI online. They are targeting women with thier smooth moves and sweet sentiments. Unfortunately it is going to be a huge story very soon.

To catch an ID thief

Jeff, Denver Colorado — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 00:00:24 GMT

There is a very simple remedy to prevent many fraudelent card uses: All the company has to do is simply ship the goods to the credit card holders billing address. This is my policy for my business. When I get someone wants me to ship to any address that is not their billing address I won't do it. If I lose the sale then I guess it was a fraudulent use and would have lost anyway. What most people don't realize is that the credit card companies don't care too much about this problem because the merchant or store making the sale is backcharged for the sale if the merchandise was not shipped to the billing address. In other words the credit card does not lose, the merchant does.

To catch an ID thief

A Victim from VA — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 00:10:38 GMT

I am a victim of identity theft we live on the east cost,we had to go to Houston for our grandson sixth surgery we adopted him since he has health issues, a few months later I received a call.There was many accounts And inquiries 21 total, open in my name after having very good credit! that called lead me to many sleepless nights trying to clear my name and prove that I never lived in that state nor the address, that was on my Equifax credit report, months later Iem still trying to clear my name and I still have sleepless nights, we found out the theft was the billing dept who took my social security number ever thing about me,Almost seven mouths later after my grandson goes to bed.Im up most of the nights getting another Theft Affidavit ready to send out or makeing another phone call, I didnt get to watch dateline I was up working on an affidavit to directv yes thay even had that hooked up for the past 6 months and seems like no one will listen to me, an arrested was made she made bail,im ignored by our police debt here at home,Thay dont even retune my calls,when Im talking to the contack person on the fraud accounts Im treated like im the criminal,I Have so much paper work this is like a 2nd job that I just want to quit ,but I hang in there I will not give up untill I SEE ever thing off my credit reports and that women has served her time!she has Put my family though hell I work full time This has cost me family time. if only the law was harder on these low lifes.just maybe thay will think twice,

To catch an ID thief

Victor M. Caguas, Puerto Rico — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 00:38:21 GMT

Dear Mr. Chris Hansen I commend you and your staff on such "Execellent" and "Profound" Investigations with To Catch A Predator, To Catch A I.D. Thief and many others. Chris I've recorded a couple of episodes of To Catch A Predator so I can protect and advise some of my nieces or nephews. Chris, if you and your Executive Producers don't mind I can help and "pinpoint" your next possible Investigation Assignment that could "HELP" bring awareness of the "Mode Of Operandi" or "Style" of Scams and Frauds by Email and Regular U.S. Postal Service. The "Style" of Scam is your receive a letter or email "Congratulated" You on winning Thousands of $$$$$.$$$ Dollars in a Online Sweepstake with you email being tied to a ballot or receipt being selected as the Winning Ticket. So you can claim your winnings by calling the number in the letter and contacting the Claims Agent with a claims number in the letter. Once you contact the agent by phone he or she will instruct you on how to claim your winnings. But I've never followed up on the instructions, because I'm too intelligent for these "scammers" and have ignored any correspondence and instructions on same. Until just recently, 3/27/07 I received a U.S. Postal Letter with No Return Address from somewhere in Canada, in it was a letter from the A.B.C Finanacial Service Company, indicating that I was a winner the second category in the Sweepstake Draw held on Feb. 15th, 2007 and it included an "Official" Looking Check with Bank Name, Business Name and Address, Check, Account & Routing Numbers...Well to make a long story short, I followed the instructions and Contacted the Rep. Claims Agent by phone provided to claim my winnings. The instructions specified that with the $4,900.00 check I received I would pay the Government Service Tax (GST). But here's the "glitch" the GST is Tax Amount: $2,980.00 and Payment Method is via Money Gram. So when I spoke to there Claims Rep. Since I smelled a "Rat", a "Scam Rat" at that, she asked me for the claim number and I gave it to her. But what "dumb-founded" me is what she said after I gave her the claims number, she said I had won $150,000.00 dollars and with the before mentioned check I received I would pay the GST Tax Amount which was $2,980.00 now the difference which we never got around to discussing, because "once" I mentioned that I doidn't recall entering any Sweepstakes (except PCH's Clearing House Sweepstakes) She said forget it than and "Hung Up" just like that! I know it's a Scam a "Major One" at that. Mr. Hansen I Guarantee! that if You follow up on my "hunch", which I can provide inreputable "PROOF" of International Scammers such as your recent "Nigeria 419" Investigative Dateline Series, showed. Finally! If you feel it's "worth" your's and your productions staff time? Please Contact Me I have "PLENTY" to provide for your "future investigative series". Sincerely, Victor M.

To catch an ID thief

A Victim from VA — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 00:40:53 GMT

I am a victim of identity theft we live on the East cost,we had to go to Houston for our son sixth surgery. Ten months After his surgery I received a call.There was many accounts And inquiries 21 total, open in my name after having very good credit! that called lead me to many sleepless nights trying to clear my name. And prove that I never lived in at Tx address that was on my Equifax credit report, Nor have I ever lived in the State of Tx, months later I em still trying to clear my name, We found out the theft was an empoyee working in billing dept who took my social security number and ever thing about me,Almost seven mouths later after my son goes to bed.Im up most of the nights getting another Theft Affidavit ready to send out or makeing another phone call, I didnt get to watch dateline I was up working on an affidavit to directv yes thay even had that hooked up for the past 6 months and seems like no one will listen to me, an arrested was made she made bail,im ignored by our police debt here at home,Thay dont even retune my calls,when Im talking to the contack person on the fraud accounts Im treated like im the criminal,I Have so much paper work this is like a 2nd job that I just want to quit ,but I hang in there I will not give up untill I SEE ever thing off my credit reports and that women has served her time!she has Put my family though hell I work full time This has cost us family time. if only the law was harder on these low lifes.just maybe thay will think twice,

To catch an ID thief

Gina Tucker, Lancaster, California — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 00:42:06 GMT

I've been scammed too - someone by the name of Alex Vasserman of Global Trans Management placed a classified ad for employment, and it sounded perfect because I wanted to stay home with my kids. He had me fax my DL# for ID purposes and sign an "employment contract". I asked questions and he had answers, he even gave me the "company website" and it looked totally legit and professional. He stated in emails that I was going to receive packages and then I was to ship them out of the country. His explanation was because most American companies will not ship overseas, which is true. It wouldn't cost me anything and I would be paid $24 dollars for each box I sent out. Well, I did this for about 2 weeks and when it was time to get paid, he asked if I had a paypal account. Then he switched the dates of when I was supposed to be paid. I knew something was off, so I stopped sending the packages, I refused any deliveries after he didn't pay me. Beware stay at home moms that are looking for work at home jobs, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!

To catch an ID thief

Dave MO — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 00:46:16 GMT

I'm anxious to see the results of this series. Kinda like 24......keeps me going. I hope there are authorities present when the real thug is confronted.

To catch an ID thief

Tam, Poughkeepsie, NY — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 00:46:48 GMT

I watched Chris Hansen's on Dateline regarding identity theft and found it very interesting. My resume is posted on Careerbuilder and today in my e-mail I received this response. The first thing that came to mind was Chris Hansen's report on identity theft. This is very suspcious! JOB APPLICATION WITH TECHNOLEX COMPANY no_reply@careerbuilder.com Product Manager Wanted! (HOT) On permanent and temporary job of the product manager are required people in age of 18-60 years in Usa. Your duties are: Receiving electronics from our partners and forwarding it to our shops. There will be several parcels coming each week some of them can arrive with a name different from yours on them. You will have to forward such parcels to us too since the name stated will probably be that of one of our office managers. The transfers are fulfilled by one of our partners: Usps, Ups, FedEx. It will take you from 15 minutes to 5 hours a day to do this job, thats why you can easily combine it with something else. Salary is about $1200/month. You will be getting your salary either straight onto your bank account or via Western Union. Our authorized partners : Sony , Samsung , Toshiba , Usps , Fedex. The basic requirements: Skill to communicate, Ability to work in a command. Ability to put interests of company higher then own. Send your CV on our e-mail: careers@technolex.ws TechnoLex Company 577 front street boise,Boise,83709 ,USA With best regards, administration of TechnoLex Company. www.technolex.ws

To catch an ID thief

kathy Lansdale PA — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 00:53:07 GMT

Great show. I work for a bank and see this type of fraud on a daily basis when our customers use their debit cards. The amount of fraud from transactions from overseas is huge and with the US too. Banks and credit card companies have to absorb a lot of this loss. Educating consumers is step in the right direction and thank you for starting to do this. We try to inform our customers but when they see it on TV they tend to listen a little more. Thank you and keep it up!!!

To catch an ID thief

William E. Bauer, Long Beach, CA — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 01:02:52 GMT

Several weeks ago my daugher had her identity stolen. The theives opened fake accounts and got away with over $80,000. When my daughter saw the changes of address and the new credit cards on her credit report she diligently filed police reports, notified agencies, and tracked her credit. Due to her work with the police, the theives were caught and are now in jail. Diligence does pay off.

To catch an ID thief

Andrew, Tampa Florida — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 01:54:08 GMT

Great report Dateline. Chris Hansen is the best investigative reporter on television because he follows the issue all the way through. Beware of chatrooms on Yahoo which are breeding grounds for these thieves. Yahoo and MySpace do very little to deal with the problem. Beware of women that look like models who are trying to lure you in. Beware of sites like The Lending Tree and others that ask for your social security number. DON'T give you SSN to anyone online.

To catch an ID thief

Judi G, Lynn, MA — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 02:04:27 GMT

Not all identity theft is committed by rouge individuals or organizations here or abroad. Family members are known to steal the identity of other family members. For example, parents who have racked up utility bills or other debt will use their children’s identity to have new credit issued. Many of these children do not know that they are victims of identity theft until they are older and realize how they were victimized. According to the Better Business Bureau’s 2006 Identity Fraud Survey Report found that almost half (47 percent) of all identity theft is perpetrated by friends, neighbors, in-home employees, family members or relatives.

To catch an ID thief

Wanda, Nashville, Tennessee — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 02:10:52 GMT

Chris: I loved your report on ID theft! You might also want to check into a probable scam targeted through www.craigslist.com. I recently posted an ad looking for a house to rent and was sent several emails from different "European businessmen/women" offering to allow me to stay RENT FREE in a local home they own in return for accepting payments from US clients". The names and locations are different each time, but the text is almost the same, and they are from Europe. I recognized this as a scam, of course, but someone desperate might not. READERS: IF YOU POST A HOUSING WANTED AD ON CRAIGSLIST, BEWARE OF THIS SCAM!

To catch an ID thief

Diane Reo, Modesto Ca — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 03:07:48 GMT

I wrote earlier about scams sent to me by e-mail. But here is another for the readers. I made a purchace from an infomercial. The Company is Youthful essance. I recieved the murchandise. That was ok. But later I got a call form my bank. Guarentee Savings telling me that my debit card was comprimised. I asked them who did this. They would not tell me. I cancelled the club membership with Youthful Essance. I got a new card with a differnet number for my debit card. Well 6 months later I noticed another charge from Youthful Essance for 65 dollars. I called the bank to tell them about this. Keep in mind I have a new number for my debit card. The bank told me that they can't do anything because I authorized the Youthful Essance in the first transaction. But, they took it from my new number anyway. They said the authouization for the frist murchandise 6 months prior even though I had a new card number would hold me accountable. So, public be aware that when you make a transaction over the phone you are going to be held for it. If this is wrong then I need help! I don't understand how the bank gave the money when I had a new debit card and they called me in the first place! HELP!!!DianeR. Modesto, CA

To catch an ID thief

Phyllis Hawkins, Morrilton, Arkansas — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 03:29:38 GMT

My 75 year old father was the victim of ID theft through his checking account. A check was written outside Atlanta GA @ Office Depot. The check was a counter type check with his account number, bank routing number, address, and bank name printed on the check. The worst thing was his drivers license number was written in by the clerk! The bank is absorbing the costs, but has taken a toll on my elderly father.

To catch an ID thief

Patti Baltimore, Harrisburg, PA — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 04:02:20 GMT

I swear watching this was so eerie! I had a co-worker who is accepting a lot of packages and remailing them to Africa for a "boyfriend" that she met in a christian chatroom. This man's story - wow - all you had to do was change places with my friend. When I asked who was paying for the mailing, she told me that he was "reimbursing" her. Can't wait to see the next segment.

To catch an ID thief

Sandy Tenorio-Victorville, CA — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 04:42:32 GMT

Hi Chris, I would like bring to your attention that it seems that all of the people involved in this scam use a Yahoo e-mail address. Very important!!! I just discovered that these identity thiefs are using websites such as easyroomates.com and roommatesusa.com to fish for victims..EVERY ONE BE AWARE!!! Chris ...I have an e-mail from someone who I just started corresponding with..let me know if you would like to follow up this lead.

To catch an ID thief

Scrub california — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 04:05:54 GMT

Great Job Chris. You probably need to visit us and see the many variation of these scams. They changed every minutes once discovered. Keep up the good work

To catch an ID thief

Jake Myers, Welaka, Florida — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 04:37:34 GMT

Thank God for you Chris and may He protect you as you expose the slimebags. My identity was stolen and I discovered some things: The police detectives are busy with murders and don't have time. They put my case on cold storage. So I became my own detective and found the guy, his girlfriend and her two aliases, his name, phone number, address, and car make and model. Then I called the detective back with the information. He said that, should he arrest the pair, they would be back out before he got off duty because there is so much violent crime, jails don't have room for non-violent criminals. They will let them go for small bonds or even no bonds and they disappear and no one chases them down. Now do you see why the problem is so huge? There is no punishment even when caught! One forged check used to be a jail sentence. Not now. Also, I discovered the "bottom feeders" -- all the businesses that charge huge fees to recover the money. Of course, the one that ends up paying is the initial victim just to stop the harrassment. But these companies make so much money on the crime, they applaud more crime. Personally, I think only a few thousand people are committing these crimes, but the number is growing because the would-be criminals see that nothing happens to the offenders. They just get rich. But since these few thousands are loose and free, they commit millions of thefts and get to home base free. If the jails are so full, let's bring back the stocks in public like one media type suggested when this problem was first beginning to surface. When they go to jail, they are allowed to have computers and it only slow them down a little. In jail they also meet others that teach them new tricks and refinements of their craft.

To catch an ID thief

Phil Port Clinton Ohio — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 06:11:54 GMT

Dateline is awesome!! There is such need for more stories like this. I work in the protection of Identity Theft and the stories blow me away everyday.Working in Law Enforcement keeps me in the now on the new scams and horror stories. There is a monitoring program for Identity theft. It is not preventable but, it is detectable and it's nice to find out before it gets out of hand. Go to www.prepaidlegal.com/idt/planghals for more information on protection.

To catch an ID thief

Scott, Michigan — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 07:22:03 GMT

I had an account opened in my name. They didn't use my existing cards. I would like to know how they did that.

To catch an ID thief

Colin — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 12:47:17 GMT

I just wanted to commend you all for the work you’re doing on Dateline. It is sometimes disturbing watching “To Catch a Predator” but the public needs to know about the dangers that exist on the Internet. I also enjoyed the segment you did on identity theft. I would like to see more on this topic. Specifically on how the information makes it into the underground chats. You should expose some of the companies that lack in protecting their consumers private data. I shopped at Best Buy 5 different times this past holiday season and used my credit card every time. I was not challenged for an ID once. I even let my sister use my credit card to make a purchase in a Kay Bee Toys. Are there laws in place to ensure that a merchant is doing everything it can to protect its customers? If so who enforces them? The FAA conducts undercover security audits at airports. Who is responsible for making sure ID’s are getting checked? Most stores are trying to make it convenient for customers by placing devices at the checkout where the customer can swipe the card and sign electronically. The problem with this convenience is that the checkout associate does not even think about checking the signature or asking for ID. This gross breach of security and customer trust needs to be exposed over and over until every credit card transaction is met with a challenge of ID. Checking for an ID is only one thing in a large list that should be exposed. Ensuring that the company has valid security measures in place to protect consumer information is important. Things like properly configured firewalls and password policies are important but the biggest thing is to train employees how to handle data, how to protect it and why.

To catch an ID thief

Jerry — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 12:55:06 GMT

Great work Chris! I operate an online electronics store very similar to the one used in your expose. I see this type of fraudulent activity on a regular basis. Honest online merchants and consumers pay the price for the credit card companies lax security. Bruce Lemons in the above post suggested why not require pin#s for online purchases. I could not agree more. This would put another layer of protection for the consumer and the merchant and help to eliminate many fraudulent transactions. Unfortunately, I believe the answer is the credit card companies do not want to eliminate the revenue stream of millions of dollars a year they collect in charge back fees to merchants. As an online merchant, We have set our own security measures in place to protect our customers and our business. 1-We do not ship outside the United States 2-All information provided by the customer is encrypted and must be valid including the name on the card, phone #, address and we manually verify this information. If the ship to address is different than the billing address or their physical address, the order is on hold until the customer contacts their credit card provider and adds that address as an additional shipping address. 3-Orders over a certain dollar value require a signature upon receipt of delivery and we only ship via trackable carriers. 4-If the order is questionable based upon certain criteria we have established the order goes on hold until all issues are resolved. 5- Above certain dollar values, we will call to verify that a purchase was made even when the credit card was valid and the CVV # was correct. I have personally called people who were the victims of identity theft and have informed them that someone has their credit card # and cvv #. To their surprise they had no idea that their credit card had been stolen. We also inform the credit card companies about fraudulent activity and give them the information that we have regarding any suspected fraud. What they do with that information, who knows? As an honest online merchant who is truly concerned for our customers security and our good name we go the extra mile to help to eliminate the cybercrooks lurking on the web. If you use a bogus card we are going to report it. We will find the phone # of the person on the card and let them know that their security has been compromised and the crook will no longer be able to use that stolen card. We will also report it to the authorities and the credit card agencies. I would really love to see an in-depth investigation into the credit card industry. They make alot of claims that are not substantiated. I am not going to leave a hyperlink to my company URL and please do not publish my email address as that may appear as an advertisement. Keep up the Good Work!

To catch an ID thief

Zain Muhammad, Elmwood Park, NJ (born in Pakistan) — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 14:32:14 GMT

Chris Hanson, this show is lot better than Americas most wanted and Cops, you are doing a great service to society, I love the show and everyone I have spoken to loves it too. God will reward you for looking out for our kids. Your attitude your diret talk to these people to the point and excellent.God Bless you, Good job. thanks Muhammad

To catch an ID thief

Joan Sackett, Dahlonega, GA — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 16:25:49 GMT

Hi Chris - we watched your show Wed. and sure enough I got an email from Bank of America asking me to update my credit card info. If I hadn't seen your program I probably would have gone on into the site and gave them what they wanted. Thanks for your segments, the predator series was great too. Keep up the good work and let's get these people off the streets.

To catch an ID thief

Kat, CT — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 23:52:20 GMT

Happened to us too....We received a package, a flash for a camera. From there a couple of suspicious phone calls. We had a charge that was not ours on our cc. Pulled up our current statement and there were a few more unauthorized charges. A couple for $1 where they were seeing if the card could still be used. Called B of A, cancelled card and requested all charges be removed. B of A removed 100% and is sending paperwork to confirm. Luckily this was a card not associated with any of our other accounts. Don't tie all your accounts to one bank. We will call merchants on Monday. Mixed bag, we don't want them to take the hit for the fraud, but they should not be shipping to other than billing address. Maybe if they get hit enough the merchant will change their procedures. Don't use debit cards, no protection. File the police report, call credit reporting agencies and put fraud alert on your account. This will keep anyone from opening a same day revolving account. (These types of accounts only hurt your credit score anyway.) Thinking of moving to a separate account for all savings versus checking and having credit card protection for overdraft. Would appreciate any other protections that anyone has employed.

To catch an ID thief

Chynna Rae, Yorktown Heights, New York — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 01:15:47 GMT

Dear Chris, First let me thank you from the bottom of my heart for saving my identity from being stolen and used criminally. If it were not for your report on identity theft, I would have been another victim this week (3/31/07). I just received a fradulent email from a scammer claiming to be from PayPal.com requesting that I click on a link to update my information. The email looked completely authentic! and if it were not for your reporting, I would not have known! Upon contacting PayPal.com the confirmed that the email I received was a fraudulent one. Our family is greatful for all you and your staff do to protect us, and being an unemployed professional the last thing our family needed was being ripped off by a bunch of no good scammers.

To catch an ID thief

Andy Bierle, San Jose, California — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 06:58:28 GMT

Hello Date line as well as Chris, I must say you are doing a great job. I myself have been a victim of identity theft. I had an individual actually purchase a Ferrari from a dealership here in California and he had it shipped back to Illinois. I knew where this person worked, do to getting the records from the dealership where the car was purchased. I also had his name, residents address, phone number, and place of employment. I could find no one that would help me, I contacted the San Jose Police department in California (where I live) filed a police report. They would do nothing about this. So then I called the Chicago police department in the burrow where this individual lives, they wanted nothing to do with it. I even offered to pay my own plane fare to Chicago if they needed me to be a witness for prosecution, still I had no response. I even had his close to kin's name (brother) Remember I personally did all of this on my own. I still have a binder full of information with great detail of times and dates etc. I guess what I am trying to say is that no one even cared even when I had a gold mine of information, and this happened only 11 months ago. I can see why these people do the crimes when they know they will not even get prosecuted.......SIMPLY AMAZING!

To catch an ID thief

Wayne,Jamestown,N.Y. — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 15:56:08 GMT

While on vacation someone used by credit and bank cards while they were in my wallet. It seems that my computer had spyware on it and all of my information was out there for the world to see. My email,cell phone #,were used in signing up for a netflix membership,online purchases to footlocker and finishline .com. I am glad I caught it the day I returned. They maxxed out my credit card before they could drain the rest of my bank account. The crooks got denied 4 times after the credit card was at its limit. The charges that did get through were sent to my house,so I sent them back .I caught everything that was charged and was reimbursed.I am now looking for the IP address that was used so I can pay them a visit.(provided they are in the continental united states).

To catch an ID thief

Dorothy Dickerson Lyons, Oregon — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 16:08:50 GMT

Chris Hansen I received an email saying congratulation you won $100,000.000.00 and it goes on. It is net crime I would like to send it to you. Dorothy Dickerson

To catch an ID thief

Liberty, Dublin, Ohio — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 16:36:49 GMT

This happened to me a year ago and no one would pursue the thieves. I called local police, MN state police, FBI, and after meeting with Secret Service I ended up finding the thieves myself. It is such a frustrating situation as the only thing officials kept telling me was, "we just don’t have time to investigate online crimes". Reassuring. Great job on bringing exposure to this situation! Let me know if you need an assistant!

To catch an ID thief

Greg Jones, Smyth Cty, Va — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 22:47:52 GMT

Good job on the ID Theft Dateline. I watched the first installment, but was disappointed at the lack of actual ID Theft. You were covering credit card fraud. They are NOT the same thing. I hope tonight's episode will shed more light on actual ID Theft.

To catch an ID thief

Missy Hamontree, Lafayette, LA — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 23:41:20 GMT

Hey to everyone out there concerned about this Identity Theft crime. It is hideous and can wreck your life as you know it. I work in the field, and there is a solution through an amazing Identity Theft Protection Plan. This is not your normal credit protection, but will secure all 5 types of your identity. I noticed that only 2 comments have this protection already and spoke highly of it. You can become a member for pennies a day and peace of mind at night, and they will totally restore your identity for you if you should become a victim. Email me for info at: thehamontrees@aol.com It's worth a good look!

To catch an ID thief

Shawn Juntunen, I.R.,Michigan — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 23:55:51 GMT

Yes, I as well have been a victim!!Just last month. I was licky to have seen that my bank was pending an amount for $227.Then next business day I spoke to the bank & they told me it was a Western Union transfer to Romania! I live in Michigan,don't know anyone in Romania. I have used WU and just did on 3/13 but also changed my password on the 18th and 19th. The transaction took place on the 20th. The bank kept the money pending because it was then reported as a fraudulant claim. Western Union told me to contact the police which they seemed to have the attitude as "oh well". I am sure they see lots of this. But this is my identity. How would they feel if it was thier's? They would what they could, right? e cancelled my acct. and since then they have tried to hit my acct. several times. Hard to believe. I have been a victim of my purse being stolen as well about 20 years ago too. You totally feel violated in many ways. What do they know about me? How long will they do this and why me? I hope someday we can get these criminals and find ways to beat them at thier own game.

To catch an ID thief

Lisa A.C. of Washington, D.C. — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 23:56:59 GMT

Dear Chris, I have watched all of your series; they're educational, informative and down-right astonishing. I have not been a victim of identity theft, but I watched part one, and am waiting anxiously to see part two hopefully to witness the crooks being busted! In my opinion, you are the next John Walsh in the making because you are also "taking the trash down". The Lord will reward you for making the sacrifices that you have. May He continue to bless you, guide your footsteps, and protect you as you enter the unfamiliar communities. Lisa A. of Washington, D.C.

To catch an ID thief

Jay, Ladson, SC — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 00:25:39 GMT

My wife and I were both victims of identity theft. I was two times (one time someone bought a website in my name) and my wife once (someone bought a house and defaulted on the loan...when she was 16). Identity theft is serious...and is much more than just financial. It's also medical, criminal, social security, and driver's lic. I recently found out about a service that helps protect you and restore your identity if you become a victim. Check out this website for more information: www.prepaidlegal.com/hub/rlstyles

To catch an ID thief

Terrance Leeders, Chicago, Illinois — Wed, 04 Apr 2007 03:23:57 GMT

It is important to contact all 3 credit bureaus to put a fraud alert on your credit report. This way, the bureau's will contact you to confirm any unusual usage or new opened accounts to verify it is you. I practice consumer bankruptcy in Chicago, Illinois, and although the bankruptcy could eliminate the debt, the effects can stay with you for years and years, forcing an individual to jump through hoop after hoop...when they did nothing wrong! The credit bureaus do have useful tools to help you fix the problem, but it is up to you to safeguard your information.

To catch an ID thief

Jim Goebel, Raytown, MO. — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 05:36:26 GMT

I recieved an email from a guy asking me to join his company as a foreign payment receiving officer who can receive payments on thier behalf for Goods and raw materials they supply to clients in Europe, America or Australia. I wonder if this is legit. Can I forward it to some one that can tell me if this is something Like I saw on the to catch an ID Thief show where stolen credit card numbers were used?

To catch an ID thief

Mitch Minchello, Mount Arlington, NJ — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 15:19:33 GMT

You would think with all the press Chris is bringing to this matter and all the attention he is getting, there would be less online thieves attempting to scam. I run an Internet store, and there are 2 people attempting to scam us now. I got a real chuckle from one of them this morning that it prompted me to add to this blog. -Mitch Minchello

To catch an ID thief

Sandy Helmer, Poipu, Kauai, Hawaii — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 00:02:22 GMT

Aloha,
I will be teaching members in our community about identity theft. I would like to use your excellent program as part of my presentation. How can I purchase a copy of your program? Mahalo, Sandy Helmer
P,S, Dateline also did a story on a man from our Island of Kauai (in Kapaa) who went to the Phillipines and was murdered and his identity stolen. However, I can't seem to find that story on this website. Any ideas on how I can locate that video, also?

To catch an ID thief

Anne, High Desert, California — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 05:51:45 GMT

Chris and Dateline NBC - keep up the good work! Just discovered my debit MC and home address was used to open a Paypal account and make charges to an online website using Paypal. Lost about $105 plus interest until the bank reverses the charges in 7-10 days. I can't believe how Paypal will allow another "name" to open a Paypal account using another persons credit card info and home address! The honest people out there suffer from this. We have to monitor our bank accounts and credit cards (limits and transactions) everyday! Then we spend countless hours trying to clean up the mess. I am so angry that this can easily happen to anyone. Why even have a credit card or debit card? Makes me want to hide my money under the mattress. :)
We will be watching your next show. Best wishes.

To catch an ID thief

K and C — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 01:16:11 GMT

Thanks to Dateline,my husband and I were able to spot pfishing (spelling?). A couple of months in a row, our AMEX cards were each (same card number) charged wth 9.95 charges, 23 cents, then $42. We asked for new card numbers and hopefully, the damnage is done! Thanks Dateline!
K&C

To catch an ID thief

Sandra Titus, Roswell, New Mexico — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 18:20:19 GMT

Chris,
I know you investigate all of those wonderful emails from the UK telling a person they have been chosen or won millions from the Uk. I get those almost everyday. I have saved some. My latest one though that I received is a letter about someone who supposedely died in one of the planes that hit the North tower on 9/11. They are asking me to come forward and claim that I'm the next of kin to this person as supposedly they don't have any next of kin. Of course we (whoever sent me the email) would split the money that is about to be handed to the Nigerian government. I just think it is unthinkable for someone to be useing the 9/11 to try to scam someone. I know you investigate these things, Please investigate this...it is awful and degrading to those who did die in the 9/11 attacks, and their families.
Sincerely,
Sandra Titus

To catch an ID thief

Nina, Westport, CT — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 15:24:08 GMT

Dear Chris,

I love all dateline shows and especially for your shows because you put yourself out there for us.
I have learned a lot from the shows. You do a great job.

To catch an ID thief

Jim Monogan, Charleston, SC — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 15:26:06 GMT

Chris Hansen did some shows I think it was titled "To Catch A Thief". I received an email that I thought may be of interest. I was going to forward it to him, but I was unable to locate his email address.

To catch an ID thief

Lofti kakish upland ca 91786 — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 04:07:12 GMT

Hi CHRIS;YOU ARE DOING A GREAT JOB CATCHING THE THIEFS&THE PREDATORS;THANKs FOR BEING A RESPONSIBLE AND CARE ABOUT OUR CHILDREN FROM A SICKKY!PEOPLE&I HOPE YOU GOING TO BE SAFE AND A GOOD HEALT TO KEEP YOU GOING I;DO LIKE YOUR PERSONALTY &YOUR PATIENT GOD WILL BE WITH YOU I AM A WRITER &I CARE ALSO ABOUT FAMILIES AND CHILDREN THANKS AGAIN....LOFTI KAKISH 12/9/2007

To catch an ID thief

glenn hundley fortwayne in — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 17:03:42 GMT

my name is glenn hundley, i have been a vicim of these people from nigeria, they have sent me lottery checks, travelers checks, cashiers checks, trying to wire to wire transfers thru my bank.note my wife and i recieved a lottery check and the bank did not check it out before they let us cash it.the check was real and the company was real.wells fargo then notified us the next morning saying that the lottery officials was'nt aware of the check.now the bank is holding us resposible for the check.we don't think that is right because the check was real and the company was real, why are we being held liable.note i still have some of those checks in my posession if your interested in catching these criminals.i would like to help out.

To catch an ID thief

Rebecca Cardenas Miami Florida — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 18:31:27 GMT

I was watching your episode on people that claim that they have a large amount of money but they need you to invest some of your money and so I. I cam to work this morning and had an e-mai from the Pricess Sarah Johnson asking me for help in obtaining 8.7 Millions dollars but she is under age and needs an adult to represent her and so on. Ofcourse the money is stuck in Abidjan Cote D'ivoire in west Afica. I was thinkg of forwarding the e-mail to the FBI. I am an employee of a very prestigious University and I do not see how with our firewalls and spam blocker how she or he got through. I did not respond to her/his e-mail. I surely would like to see them cought.

To catch an ID thief

Rick Wood, Grants Pass, OR — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 15:11:24 GMT

Note: no need to post.

After watching you your show "to catch a thief". I beleive tht someone working for the shipping company in the country the of the package's destination is in on it.
Has anyone contacted the corporate office?

To catch an ID thief

Ding Ding, Vallejo, Calif — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:42:28 GMT

When will you do more episodes to "To catch an ID thief and con man" ? I like these shows because ID thieves cannot outsmart everybody.

To catch an ID thief

John Lindemann, Newark, CA — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 03:34:31 GMT

Seems to me like even more progress could be made (stopping identity theft, or at least its devastating effects) by holding those agencies that open accounts fraudulently responsible. Websites [government run or otherwise] that post "public" records online, are only making it easier for people to access such records from anywhere in the world. I don’t see that as the root of the problem, since these records are "public" anyway. If credit reporting agencies and/or banks, stores, or any other agency that extends credit were to take responsible and *effective* measures to guarantee that person "A" is who they claim to be... anyone should be able to give out their social security number like candy with no way for anyone to fraudulently *use* that information. Let's face it- there's no way to eliminate company’s and agencies from exposing personal information in error...but I don't hear much about lawmakers writing laws that would require banks and credit agencies to take responsibility for [their] opening accounts in error due to fraud. There will always be fraud, and there will always be exposure of personal information- but if the criminals can't *use* that information, the devastating effects of identity theft will lessen. Personally, I place most if not all the blame on the credit reporting agencies. Luckily I live in a state that has a law allowing me to freeze my credit report proactively -I don't need to become an ID theft victim first. It still amazes me that I need a law to allow me to have some control over how a for-profit agency broadcasts my personal information to any other company for the right price! When will these agencies (and others) take responsibility and short-circuit the ID theft problem at its source?

To catch an ID thief

Jane Doe — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 20:10:00 GMT

The girl "Wendy" who's photos were used in this scam is a porn model/escort who lives in Vancouver, B.C. Canada. She can be viewed on several porn sites shot out of Vancouver.

To catch an ID thief

tom veith, palm harbor fl. — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 21:34:11 GMT

Why don't you , when these thieves want to buy the "stolen" credit card or ID's drop a little doomsday virus in with the information. It would put them out of business temporarily and you could enclose a trojan with it to send you the IP address of the computer it is from, allowing you to know where they are. If law enforcement can't do anything at least we could destroy their computer. Maybe they would be banned from the internet cafe where they work from.

To catch an ID thief

Jeanni Tavlin, Los Angeles — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 02:47:21 GMT

I saw your program on ID thieves last night, thinking that it was a new program. (I was unaware that it was a repeat of a program that had previously been aired a year ago.) Within a day of watching the show, I received a call from my credit card; asking if I had authorized a charge to my card from a hotel in the United Kingdom. I said no; I am handicapped and confined to a wheelchair in Los Angeles, so there was no way I could have charged anything in the UK. Then I was asked if I had authorized a charge of $1.00 to another retailer. I replied that I hadn't and that that charge was to see if the card was authentic. Once that charge cleared, the hotel bill was attempted. Needless to say, my account is now closed and I will be sent another card. But, if I didn't have such an astute watch-dog monitoring my account, many thousands of dollars could have been charged to my account. That was the easy part; but, I have to deal with the inconvenience involved in opening a new account and not being able to access my account. I do believe that the good old days, which people always refer to when reminiscing, may not have been so technically advanced as things are today; but, for sure, we all felt safer! And that is worth something!!! The public owes you a debt of gratitude for making us aware of the tactics of these unscrupulous predators; and for that, I sincerely thank you. A predator is a low-life; and it doesn't matter if he deals with children for sex or identity theft. They are all the same and need to pay for their crime.

To catch an ID thief

Mr. Mrs. Williams/Shieh Las Vegas, Nevada — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 23:08:41 GMT

Dear Chris Hansen, I get an email scam every day. Some of them are quite clever. I want to send you these emails so that you may use them for your investigations, please contact me as soon as possible. I am not sure where they got my email information, but they are asking me for my name, and DOB, home phone number, things they should already know if I had won a big sum of money right I wanted to believe it, because money is tight right now but I just found it hard to believe. Please contact me or my husband.

To catch an ID thief

Ellis Bergman — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 23:21:11 GMT

I actually think this scam might be happening to me now on eBay. If anyone wants to get in contact with me, drop me a line.

To catch an ID thief

Steve, Alexandria, Virginia — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 18:46:07 GMT

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To catch an ID thief

varinder concord ca 94519 — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 06:11:39 GMT

Hello msnbc director and Chris Hansen
my name is varinder. i love Mr. Hansen show catching those bad guy who try to scam American not just i have got those e-mail many time just like help some one to move there big fund . i can`t believe those people will do every thing . this is too bad there is no law we can prosecute them now days i am getting email and phone call for refinance my home these people are e-mailing me to send my pay stub bank statement not just that last time when he call me asked me how much money i have in Bank think they may try to trick new way to scam.
I thank you MSNBC AND CHRIS HENSAN.