Identity thieves get scrutiny

EVERETT – To deputy prosecutor Halley Hupp, identity theft is “the crime of the decade.”

Anyone who has had his or her personal information stolen and used by criminals likely will agree.

Identity theft, which often is linked to drugs, has been on a rapid rise and has attracted the attention of the state attorney general and federal prosecutors. Now, the Snohomish County prosecutor’s office is taking aim at the biggest identity thieves and other complex fraud cases.

Hupp will head a sort of fraud squad, a prosecutor’s unit that will work with county police to concentrate on the more egregious violations. It also will prosecute offenders for crimes that reflect the seriousness of their deeds and try to notify all the victims – something that’s rarely done now, Hupp said.

“I like to think of it as an identity theft and fraud unit,” Hupp said. “It’s a way to attack sophisticated identity theft cases.” He noted that many situations are made complex because some of the crooks use computers and other technology to manufacture false financial records.

Prosecuting Attorney Janice Ellis said the county’s identity theft cases jumped 53 percent two years ago and another 61 percent in 2005. This year, she expects the office will receive more than 250 felony identity theft cases from county police agencies.

“Fewer people are being robbed on the corner and many people are becoming victims of crimes, and they don’t know it until their bank calls and tells them they’re overdrawn,” Ellis said.

That’s often the way it is with identity theft. Some personal information is stolen from the mail or a dumpster. Thieves use names, addresses and account numbers to manufacture checks or dip into bank accounts. The victim often doesn’t know what happened until the money’s gone.

Sometimes police will find sacks of stolen mail and personal information about hundreds of people in a motel room or in the back seat of a car. They also sometimes find computers capable of making false ID cards, bogus checks or driver’s licenses.

A fundamental goal of the unit will be to ensure all victims are contacted and made aware that their ID has been misused, Hupp said. Now, police agencies may not have the ability to do that if personal information of a large number of people is recovered from suspects, he said.

Notifying people that their personal information has been in the wrong hands will give people a chance to establish a fraud alert with credit-reporting agencies and possibly head off weeks or months of work getting their credit straightened out.

The unit, set to start working in November, will begin work with the hope that the county’s 2007 budget will bring two lawyers and a secretary to the prosecutor’s staff.

Under the plan, the same deputy prosecutor would stay with a complicated case from the early stages of investigation through prosecution and sentencing. A lawyer from the unit will be available by telephone to give advice to police or help with search warrants when officers stumble onto a large cache of stolen identification, even at odd hours.

“In order to effectively prosecute the cases, we need a team of people who are dedicated to managing these large, complex matters,” Ellis said. Hupp added that some of the cases might be prosecuted in federal court.

Big embezzlers and sophisticated con artists also would come under review by the unit if the financial paper trail is complicated.

“I’ve spoken to many police agencies and they are excited and eager to work with us,” Hupp said. “These are the kinds of cases they want people to be held accountable for.”

Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.

People can check their credit with the three major credit reporting agencies:

Equifax, www.equifax.com, 800-685-1111. To report fraud, call 800-525-6285 or write to P.O. Box 740241 Atlanta, GA 30374.

Experian, www.experian.com, 888-397-3742. Write to P.O. Box 2002, Allen, TX 75013.

TransUnion, www.transunion.com, 800-888-4213. Write to P.O. Box 1000, Chester, PA 19022.