Identity Theft Washington Parish Sheriff Victim

The Washington Parish Sheriff’s Office says Parish Sheriff Randy Seal was recently the victim of a “sophisticated identify theft ring operating from Texas to Florida.

Washington Parish is a common target for the ring.

Officials say Sheriff Seal and his wife were notified that they had written checks for more than $2,500 to Baton Rouge and Denham Springs businesses they had visited.

http://liarcatchers.com/identity_theft_investigation.html

The method used by the thieves is to obtain the routing number, checking account number and driver’s license number from the victim’s personal checking account.

That information is then used to produce counterfeit checks, along with a counterfeit driver’s license, and the thieves shop at local stores and shopping malls where electronics and other high end merchandise can easily be purchased.

The thieves then return the merchandise for cash at another location of the same store.

Two woman and one male have been arrested, but are not believed to be the masterminds of the operation.

Sheriff’s Office Captain Tommie Sorrell says weekly thefts continue to be reported and the criminals have been traced to five states.

These same criminals have recently struck in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. Louisiana purchases were made in Baton Rouge, Denham Springs, Slidell, Covington, Amite, Hammond and Lake Charles. In each case, the criminals were operating in the name of a Washington Parish resident.

There are 20 cases currently being worked on by the sheriff’s office, Bogalusa Police Department and Franklinton Police Department, and authorities suspect that there are at least 20 more unreported cases.
Residents are advised to carefully guard their personal banking and driver’s license information and not to leave mail in mailboxes for an extended period of time. Officials suggest buying a shredder in order to destroy any documents containing personal information. Personal checking accounts should be monitored for unusual activity.

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