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In the same vein of stolen ATM cards, the LA Times reports on the growing problem of identity theft. The story focuses on how the merchants take the brunt of the cost when claims are filed and how none of the agencies involved, not the banks, the government, or the retailers seem all that concerned with informing consumers when their credit cards or other information has been compromised.
But who needs to steal an identity when you can just create a fake one? USC Campus Police removed Kenneth Leon Foster from campus this weekend after students living in Fluor Tower suspected something was fishy. Foster claimed to be a transfer student at school on a track scholarship. Really, he's a suspected car thief from North Carolina known for using aliases.
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If you've ever had your identity stolen, you know that one of the first things you have to do to fix everything is file a police report. And so you've also experienced the utter shock of finding out the police departments really have no interest in investigating these crimes. A good friend of mine had an identity thief actually do a ton of work on his car, so you would think it would be easy for the police to find the repair shop, get the license plate of the car that was fixed and track down the perp. But no, they're not interested.
I got one of my credit card numbers stolen - those bitches went to dinner, rented a limo for the AMAs and sent tons of packages from their work to prisons up north and even ordered magazine subscriptions - The police know where they work and where they live. What have they done? Nothing. Since I didn't have to pay for any of the charges, it's up to the credit card companies and the individual vendors to go after these people...which we know rarely happens....
Exactly.
Because the cost of the credit card companies (or any company, for that matter) persuing the case in court is more expensive than just writing off the loss. I had 35 (yes, THIRTY FIVE!) cards forged in my name. Not a single compay went after the person responsible- even after filing a police report. They told me that if the damages are less than two grand, they just won't bother. Not worth the effort.
People are the best.