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/
[email protected]
(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.
