Fraud Finds a Welcome Home on Bainbridge

Fraud is hardly unique to Bainbridge. But over the last year, our community has seen an upsurge in the number of cases reported to police. This may be a reflection of people’s awareness of the need to report incidents to the police, it may be a sign of an actual increase in incidents, or it may be a combination of the two.

The latest fraud affecting our community is an IRS false reporting scam. The IRS fraud has been happening across the country, but numerous victims on the Island work for St. Cecilia’s—their victimization is related to a specific security breach at the Seattle Archdiocese. The breach was reported by the Archdiocese on Friday, March 14, in a message to employees and volunteers informing them they could be “victims of a national tax refund fraud.” Social Security numbers were stolen and used to file fake returns with the IRS, returns that tried to secure refunds for the perpetrators.

Here is one week’s worth of fraud reporting on the rock:

On March 25, a man called BIPD to report the fraudulent use of his debit card. He said he had been notified of withdrawals made in Kiev, Ukraine. He said one withdrawal had been made on March 21 and two on March 24. Each was for $95 and transaction fees, totaling $297.
Also on the 25th, a man came to the Police Station to report identity theft. He said he had been in Chicago on the 30th of October when he had used his hotel’s WiFi to log onto his computer. While out of town, he received a notice that his e-mail password had changed. He then changed it to prevent someone else from gaining access. But in November he began getting calls from creditors about denied applications. He had not applied for any of them. He cancelled his account. Then on March 22, he received a call from a collection agency about an unpaid Comcast bill in the amount of $1842.52. The rep said it was for installation at a Chicago address. The fraudulent customer had used the man’s old checking account number to open the account.
A man called the station on March 24 to report that his ID had been used to file a false tax return. He had received a letter from the IRS about the $305,867 tax return refund he was due. He said he had not yet filed his return. The man said that a few months earlier he had been the victim of identity theft.
On March 22, a woman reported to the police that she was a victim of debit card fraud. Someone had charged over $700 on her card to boydbuilding.com, leaving her overdrawn.
On the 21st, a woman reported to the BIPD that the IRS had contacted her to warn her she might be the victim of identity theft. A tax return had been submitted with her SSN.
A couple came to the station on the 20th to report identity theft as part of the Archdiocese security breach. A fake tax return had been filed in their names. The attempt to file had been denied.
On the 19th, a man reported that someone had been writing fraudulent checks off his Columbia Bank account.

How to Protect Yourself

To avoid becoming a victim or to make sure you haven’t already become one, check your bank accounts and credit card statements regularly for suspicious transactions. Also, sign up for alerts with the three credit bureaus, Transunion, Equifax, and Experian.

If you believe you are the victim of identity theft, avail yourself of the resources at the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) website, including their legal assistance guide. You can also report identity theft to the FTC. Be sure to contact the BIPD and file a report.

Finally, know your rights. For example, you have the right to ask the major credit reporting companies to place a Fraud Alert on your credit report and to ask for free copies of the information on your credit report. You also have the right to ask a credit reporting company to block that information from your credit report if you believe information in your report is a result of identity theft.

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Photo by Shawn Campbell.

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