Is identity theft a problem in this area? “Yes, we have many cases,” confirms Sgt. Noel Houze Jr., Indiana State Police public information officer.  “It is a growing problem nationwide.”

“We are seeing an increase of identity theft in Franklin County,” says  Jon Cleary, chief deputy prosecuting attorney. “The most common type of identity theft that we see is when a person is stopped by law enforcement for a traffic violation or a criminal offense, and the person uses the name or identification of another person.  Obviously this is detrimental to the investigation and upon the innocent victim.”  

He adds, “Identity theft can also occur when someone attempts to obtain credit, loans, rentals, mortgages, cellphones or utilities in another person's name.  Fortunately, we have not seen many of these occurrences yet.”

According to Houze, “A typical case involves one person obtaining a Social Security number or credit card number of an unsuspecting victim and from there, the thief can financially ruin the victim in a very short time.”

Cleary reports, “In most of our cases, the victim is a relative. In one recent case in Franklin County, the victim was the suspect's brother.” A man was stopped for a traffic offense, and used his brother's identification. The prosecutor points out, “A suspect can be charged with identity deception, a Class D felony, but also with forgery, a Class C felony, if the suspect signs the victim's name.”

Cleary gives a second example: “Another recent case involved a neighbor breaking into a person's home, stealing a checkbook, assuming the victim's identity and writing bad checks to many local businesses. Often suspects will advise the local businesses that they are the son, granddaughter, etc., of the victim when there is an obvious discrepancy in identity.”

The ISP officer notes, “There are many ways for a thief to obtain the victim's information. A thief can rummage through trash and obtain discarded bills, preapproved credit card applications, etc.  The thieves are very resourceful.  They can use a camera phone to take a photo of the victim's credit card over the victim's shoulder.”

Houze questions, “How many times do you go to a restaurant and after you've finished your meal, put your credit card in the little leather folder for the waiter to take back to some ‘black hole’ supposedly to pay for your meal?  How do you know that person didn't write down your credit card info ...?”  

“Of course, there are the really sophisticated thieves who have the skills and equipment to hack into databases and steal thousands of identities at once ... I haven't heard of anyone from this area being a victim in that manner, although it's not out of the question.”

What can area businesses do to prevent customers' personal information from being stolen?   Ripley County Sheriff Tom Grills advises, “Businesses should always ask for IDs, learn what fake IDs look like and have a plan for employees to abide by for the processing of personal information. Some private investigators ... can come into a company to provide a plan and guidance for the securement of such information.”

Houze says the best way for businesses to protect their customers from this kind of theft “is to avoid compiling databases with unnecessary personal information and use as many protective devices on their computers as possible (such as firewalls). Also, limit the number of employees who have access to that information. The Federal Trade Commission Web site is a good resource to check out for all kinds of information on ID theft.”

Debbie Blank can be contacted at (812) 934-4343, Ext. 113; or debbie.blank@.batesvilleheraldtribune.com. To comment on stories, visit batesvilleheraldtribune.com.