Identity theft ring hits 8,000 U.S. sailors and reservists
Technorati Tag: Security Breach
Date Reported:
11/06/08
Organization:
United States Navy (Department of the Navy)
Contractor/Consultant/Branch:
Naval Air Station JRB Forth Worth
Location:
Fort Worth, Texas
Victims:
"sailors and reservists"
Number Affected:
8,000
Types of Data:
"personnel records" including bank information, names, addresses, and Social Security numbers
Breach Description:
"Leak at Fort Worth base compromises identities of 8,000 military members." "A former U.S. Navy petty officer at Fort Worth's Joint Reserve Base accessed secret military databases and compromised the identities of 8,000 sailors and reservists, police said."
Reference URL:
Dallas/Forth Worth NBC News
Report Credit:
Scott Gordon, Dallas/Forth Worth NBC News and a special thanks to informed reader Rob Thomas at InsideIDTheft.info.
Response:
From the online source cited above:
A former U.S. Navy petty officer at Fort Worth's Joint Reserve Base accessed secret military databases and compromised the identities of 8,000 sailors and reservists, police said.
[Evan] It really ticks me off when someone takes advantage of the men and women who serve our country.
Investigators said the information was used to make fraudulent checks and identification cards.
More than $1 million was stolen
Cora Dixon of Euless, the former petty officer and a one-time U.S. Navy payroll clerk, was dishonorably discharged last year and now faces criminal charges, investigators said.
[Evan] I wonder if she was dishonorably discharged for her involvement with this identity theft ring or for other reasons. If she was discharged for her involvement in this scam, I wonder if the Navy detected unauthorized activity or if they were tipped off. I'm going with tipped off.
A picture of Cora Dixon, Source: Dallas/Forth Worth NBC News
"She worked in intelligence," said Euless police Lt. John Williams. "She had access to all the bank information."
[Evan] It ain't easy to gain authorized access to this type of information. She must have been an honest person at one point.
Dixon was assigned to the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth but also stole personnel records from a military base in San Antonio
Police said the ringleaders spent the millions of dollars they stole at Dallas strip clubs and by living large.
"They had Mercedes, BMWs, motorcycles (and) took trips to Vegas," Williams said. "They just blew the money like it was water. Of course, it wasn't their money, so it didn't matter."
[Evan] Heckuva lifestyle. This is what draws criminals to this enterprise.
Euless detectives investigated the ring for nearly two years, along with the U.S. Secret Service and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
Police described Dixon's boyfriend, Seneca Wills, as the group's ringleader.
A picture of Seneca Wills, the suspected identity theft group's ring-leader. Source: Dallas/Forth Worth NBC News
Wills dropped by Dallas shelters to find homeless people to do the dirty work, investigators said.
"He took them to a motel, cleaned them up (and) took their pictures," Williams said. "He put their pictures on these fake IDs, gave them checks and then drove them around and had them cash the checks."
[Evan] This is the first time I have read about using homeless people as go-betweens. We suspected this type of activity, but now we have some proof.
A fake identification piece, using a suspected homeless person's picture. Source: Dallas/Forth Worth NBC News
The investigation started in January 2007 almost by accident.
Irving police said Zachariah Long refused to move his car from a fire lane and was arrested. Police said officers found counterfeit checks and fake IDs inside his car.
[Evan] The authorities were tipped off much like what was the case in the "Mystery surrounds State Department breach". If you are a bad guy doing bad things, don't leave evidence in your car.
Investigators stumbled across more fake identification in a shoe box at a shoe store at Valley View Center in Dallas. It wasn't clear how it got there.
The investigation spiraled and eventually led to more than 70 suspects, many of them homeless people who were used to cash the checks, investigators said.
Angel Mitchell, a former Bank of America teller, was also arrested
Police said she gave ring members confidential bank account information. She accepted $100 per account, investigators said.
Bank auditors discovered her computer login had been used to access a number of compromised account
[Evan] Kudos to Bank of America auditors. Doesn't hurt when the person you are investigating is an idiot.
Commentary:
The article is a very interesting read. It gives us some insight into how an identity theft ring operates. There are many different ways to commit fraud using someone else's identity. Mr. Wills must be quite a charmer.
Obviously employees can pose a significant risk to an organization's information assets. What controls can be implemented to reduce risk, but at the same time enable productivity?
Past Breaches:
United States Navy:
October, 2008 - Former US Naval Research Laboratory employee charged with theft
January, 2008 - The Naval Surface Warfare Center warns employees
Date Reported:11/06/08
Organization:
United States Navy (Department of the Navy)
Contractor/Consultant/Branch:
Naval Air Station JRB Forth Worth
Location:
Fort Worth, Texas
Victims:
"sailors and reservists"
Number Affected:
8,000
Types of Data:
"personnel records" including bank information, names, addresses, and Social Security numbers
Breach Description:
"Leak at Fort Worth base compromises identities of 8,000 military members." "A former U.S. Navy petty officer at Fort Worth's Joint Reserve Base accessed secret military databases and compromised the identities of 8,000 sailors and reservists, police said."
Reference URL:
Dallas/Forth Worth NBC News
Report Credit:
Scott Gordon, Dallas/Forth Worth NBC News and a special thanks to informed reader Rob Thomas at InsideIDTheft.info.
Response:
From the online source cited above:
A former U.S. Navy petty officer at Fort Worth's Joint Reserve Base accessed secret military databases and compromised the identities of 8,000 sailors and reservists, police said.
[Evan] It really ticks me off when someone takes advantage of the men and women who serve our country.
Investigators said the information was used to make fraudulent checks and identification cards.
More than $1 million was stolen
Cora Dixon of Euless, the former petty officer and a one-time U.S. Navy payroll clerk, was dishonorably discharged last year and now faces criminal charges, investigators said.
[Evan] I wonder if she was dishonorably discharged for her involvement with this identity theft ring or for other reasons. If she was discharged for her involvement in this scam, I wonder if the Navy detected unauthorized activity or if they were tipped off. I'm going with tipped off.
A picture of Cora Dixon, Source: Dallas/Forth Worth NBC News
"She worked in intelligence," said Euless police Lt. John Williams. "She had access to all the bank information."
[Evan] It ain't easy to gain authorized access to this type of information. She must have been an honest person at one point.
Dixon was assigned to the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth but also stole personnel records from a military base in San Antonio
Police said the ringleaders spent the millions of dollars they stole at Dallas strip clubs and by living large.
"They had Mercedes, BMWs, motorcycles (and) took trips to Vegas," Williams said. "They just blew the money like it was water. Of course, it wasn't their money, so it didn't matter."
[Evan] Heckuva lifestyle. This is what draws criminals to this enterprise.
Euless detectives investigated the ring for nearly two years, along with the U.S. Secret Service and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service.
Police described Dixon's boyfriend, Seneca Wills, as the group's ringleader.
A picture of Seneca Wills, the suspected identity theft group's ring-leader. Source: Dallas/Forth Worth NBC News
Wills dropped by Dallas shelters to find homeless people to do the dirty work, investigators said.
"He took them to a motel, cleaned them up (and) took their pictures," Williams said. "He put their pictures on these fake IDs, gave them checks and then drove them around and had them cash the checks."
[Evan] This is the first time I have read about using homeless people as go-betweens. We suspected this type of activity, but now we have some proof.
A fake identification piece, using a suspected homeless person's picture. Source: Dallas/Forth Worth NBC News
The investigation started in January 2007 almost by accident.
Irving police said Zachariah Long refused to move his car from a fire lane and was arrested. Police said officers found counterfeit checks and fake IDs inside his car.
[Evan] The authorities were tipped off much like what was the case in the "Mystery surrounds State Department breach". If you are a bad guy doing bad things, don't leave evidence in your car.
Investigators stumbled across more fake identification in a shoe box at a shoe store at Valley View Center in Dallas. It wasn't clear how it got there.
The investigation spiraled and eventually led to more than 70 suspects, many of them homeless people who were used to cash the checks, investigators said.
Angel Mitchell, a former Bank of America teller, was also arrested
Police said she gave ring members confidential bank account information. She accepted $100 per account, investigators said.
Bank auditors discovered her computer login had been used to access a number of compromised account
[Evan] Kudos to Bank of America auditors. Doesn't hurt when the person you are investigating is an idiot.
Commentary:
The article is a very interesting read. It gives us some insight into how an identity theft ring operates. There are many different ways to commit fraud using someone else's identity. Mr. Wills must be quite a charmer.
Obviously employees can pose a significant risk to an organization's information assets. What controls can be implemented to reduce risk, but at the same time enable productivity?
Past Breaches:
United States Navy:
October, 2008 - Former US Naval Research Laboratory employee charged with theft
January, 2008 - The Naval Surface Warfare Center warns employees
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