ID Thief Spends Hundreds On Snakes - WREG

FAST FACTS:
Mid South man victim of nationwide credit card fraud ring say police
Thief stole account information and bought snakes totaling hundreds of dollars
Buyer's e-mail included the name "Prohacks"

http://www.idtheftcenter.org/
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(Horn Lake, MS 9/30/2009) Tonight, the search is on for the "snake" who's using stolen identities to buy hundreds of dollars of reptiles.

It's part of what investigators believe is a sophisticated, credit card fraud ring, with a least one victim here in the Mid South.

The thieves are targeting debit and credit cards, and, it appears, they know a lot more about you, than what's on your card.

For Donald South, the bad news started when he called his bank, to check his account balance last week.

"It was kind of, you know, what?" South said, recalling the disbelief he felt after learning someone had fraudulently charged $149.94 to his account.

"I said I haven't made no debit for this," South said.

The kicker came when he found out his money went to buy a florescent orange corn snake.

South learned it was ordered on-line, and sent to a home in Philadelphia.

"I've never been to Philadelphia," said South. "I don't even know what the place looks like."

Horn Lake police say South is the latest victim of one of the fastest-growing crimes.

"We're starting to see identity theft on almost a daily basis," explained Lt. Scott Evans with the Horn Lake Police Department.

What's not clear is where someone got South's personal information, but the owner of the Brooklyn, New York-based website where the thief placed the order, says South isn't alone.

Last week, the same guy in Philadelphia placed three orders, using three different credit or debit card accounts from victims across the U.S.

In each case, the thief ordered snakes and had them sent to the same Philadelphia address.

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hhmoore said:

The said on the video that the guy's name (or at least the name used) is Mike Williams...

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In all, the orders totaled nearly $600.

Robert Crespo, owner of the website, Reptiles-N-Critters.com says the amount of information the buyer had, makes Crespo believe the thief, who used the name Mike Williams, is a pro.

"Mr. Williams obviously had very detailed credit card records including all billing address information, plus complete credit card details," said Crespo. "He obviously must have gotten this information, either purchased it or obtained it in some illicit way."

Crespo, says it's common for his customers to buy snakes as gifts, so he wasn't suspicious about the different names, until he began getting calls from victims like South.

When Crespo pulled the sales records, he learned the customer used two different e-mails accounts, including one with the name, "Prohacks."

Hacking is what police believe likely happened to South's account.

"I would venture to say someone hacked into a major company and was able to retrieve that kind of data," said Lt. Evans.

South says fears of getting ripped-off kept him from using his debit card on-line.

He says whenever possible, he only uses cash.

The disabled grandfather, who is on a fixed income, thought he'd be the last target for hackers.

Now, South is working with his bank to get the charge credited back to him, and waiting for a new debit card to arrive.

"I'll make sure this time the card stays in my wallet," said South. "If I have to cover it up with my hand when i'm using it, put a lock and key on it somehow."

As for the thief that ripped him off, South has one wish for the snake, and his new collection of pets.

"I said I hope it bites him," said South.

Horn Lake Police say financial crimes, like this, have become such an issue, the department now has detectives who do nothing but follow the trail of these crooks.

WREG News Channel 3 Investigators checked records and didn't find anyone named Mike Williams living at the Philadelphia address where the snakes were shipped.

We tried contacting Williams at the two e-mail addresses he used to buy the snakes, but, not surprisingly, no one responded.

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Wraith said:

You only posted part of the article. You forgot to post page 2.

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