Ohio Identity Theft Cases Have Doubled
The Ohio State Highway Patrol has seen the number of identity theft cases more than double this year. Identity theft is a $10 million a year criminal business, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
The increase in identity theft cases in the past year is alarming and continues to grow. The Ohio State Highway Patrol says it has investigated 248 cases so far this year, compared to 114 by this time in 2009. The agency says the cases involve fraudulent identification discovered by troopers during traffic stops or phony paperwork turned in to the Bureau of Motor Vehicles by people seeking driver licenses, state ID cards and vehicle registrations.
“It’s a huge problem,” says Sgt. Gregory Blake, “probably the fastest rising crime in the country.”
“There has been an increase throughout the state and there has been an increase here at the post,” said Sgt. Robert Ashenfelter of the Ohio State Highway Patrol.
“Through our training we are able to look for the fraudulent documents, finding a fake drivers license, finding a fake social, finding a fake security card, finding a bunch of credit cards in multiple people’s names within the normal traffic stops that we incur,” explains Sgt. Ashenfelter….
“It is very hard to catch an individual who commits ID theft, because they feel comfortably doing it and it’s hard to catch them in the act,” says Sgt. Blake.
Sgt. Blake said everyone must protect their personal information. “The main thing is protect your documents like your social security card and birth certificate and protect your children’s’ cards and birth certificates.”
Officials say there are a number of resources to help you protect your identity. It’s also a good idea to periodically check your credit report and score with the 3 major credit reporting agencies.
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- Ohio State Computer Containing 760,000 Individuals Personal Information Breached
- Understand What Identity Theft Is
- How Much for a Fake I.D.?
- What Is Identity Theft Used For?
- Child Identity Theft is a Growing Concern
