Pompano man guilty of ID theft, tax refund fraud.

Agents confiscated more than $780,000

A 52-year-old Pompano Beach man was convicted of identity theft and tax refund fraud, U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer announced Thursday.

Nael Dawud Sammour was found guilty of the identity theft charges after a three-day jury trial in Fort Lauderdale federal court. Before the trial, he pleaded guilty to the eight tax refund fraud counts, prosecutors said.

Undercover IRS agents posed as Sammour’s refund check cashers. They seized 75 U.S. Treasury tax refund checks totaling $750,369 and another $30,128 in cash from Sammour during his arrest, according to court records.

Several unknown suspects used stolen identification — including the names, birth dates, and the social security numbers of unsuspecting taxpayers — to fraudulently apply for and receive U.S. tax refunds. Sammour received many of these refund checks and later gave them, along with counterfeit driver’s licenses and Social Security cards, to the undercover IRS agents who were expected to cash them, according to trial evidence and testimony.

Sammour faces up to 10 years in prison on each of the eight tax refund fraud counts, as well as mandatory two year consecutive terms on the aggravated identity theft charges when sentenced July 1, prosecutors said.

(source)

Tips For Avoiding Medical Identity Theft

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) says you may be a victim of medical identity theft if:

• You get a bill for medical services you didn’t receive.
• A debt collector contacts you about medical debt you don’t owe.
• You order a copy of your credit report and see medical collection notices you don’t recognize.
• You try to make a legitimate insurance claim and your health plan says you’ve reached your benefits limit.
• You are denied insurance because your medical records show a condition you don’t have.

What Should I Do?

• Pay close attention to your medical, insurance and financial records in order to spot discrepancies and possible fraud.
• Keep detailed records of all medical services received.
• Request copies, in writing, from each provider including doctors, clinics, hospitals, pharmacies, laboratories and health plans. Providers should produce your documents within 30 days.
• File a complaint with the FTC at http://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov or by phone at 1-877-438-4338.
• File a police report and send copies of the report to your health plan’s fraud department, your health-care providers and the three nationwide credit reporting companies.
• Place a fraud alert with one of the following three nationwide credit reporting companies. The one you call is required to contact the others who will place an alert on their report.
• Learn how to freeze your credit by visiting the County’s Consumer Protection website and click on Consumer Topics – Protect Yourself Against Identity Theft – Freezing Your Credit. Freezing your credit file can prevent thieves from opening new credit accounts under your name.
• Become familiar with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy Rule. HIPAA gives consumers the right to copies of their records that are maintained by health plans and medical providers covered by that law. HIPAA provides consumers the right to have errors corrected in their medical and billing records.

Florida ID theft ring operating in north suburbs.

The arrest of a Florida woman last month and a subsequent investigation by the Winnetka Police Department has linked the crime to a group that law enforcement calls the “Florida Felony Lane Gang.”

Molly E. Meiring, 35, of 5741 N.E. 18th Ave., Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., was arrested by Winnetka police at 3:25 p.m. Nov. 29 while attempting to cash a forged check with a stolen identification at Northern Trust Bank, 62 Green Bay Road.

Meiring was believed to have conducted a similar transaction the previous day at the same bank and Northern Trust employees recognized the suspect and called police. Meiring was still in the bank’s drive thru when police arrived.

“In this case they got greedy and came back the next day,” said Winnetka Police Commander Jim Christensen. “They were successful the previous day.”

An investigation by Winnetka police revealed the crime matched an operation used by a criminal operation known to police as the “Florida Felony Lane Gang.” The group recruits in Florida and operates in places like Chicago’s suburbs.

Leading up to the crime, two different women’s purses were stolen from unattended vehicles parked separately in Northbrook and Evanston. The suspects use the identification, checkbooks and other bank information to write and cash checks against each victim’s accounts.

“(The suspects) use a check and make it payable to another burglary victim of which they have a driver’s license,” Christensen said. “(Meiring) cut her hair short so she can don wigs. Through makeup and other means they try to look like one of the victims.”

Christensen said the group has ring leaders in Florida who recruit individuals, typically women who have fallen on hard times, and travel with them to the Chicago area. Crews already in Chicago break into cars and steal purses looking for identification and check books.

“(The group’s leaders) recruit these people because they are the ones they want to get caught,” Christensen said. “A lot of (the leaders) stay out on the perimeter as lookouts.”

Christensen said residents need to take precaution with their purses and personal identification. Gyms and fitness centers are primary targets of groups like these as people tend to leave their wallets and purses in their cars while working out.

“It’s a sophisticated group of felons out there looking to do more than take the cash out of your wallet,” Christensen said. “They’re looking to drain your bank account and they do it fast. Often times it’s on the same day before victims can notify their financial institution.”

Christensen said the Winnetka Police Department is working with other law enforcement agencies and the crime remains an active investigation.

(source)

Internal Personnel Should Not be Responsible To Destroy Certain Information

Common sense dictates that payroll information and materials that involve labor relations or legal affairs, should not be entrusted to lower level employees for destruction. But, beyond that, competition sensitive information is best protected from them as well. It has been established, time and again, that employees are the most likely to realize the value of certain information to competitors. And, lower wage employees often have the economic incentive to capitalize on their access to it. The only acceptable alternatives are to have the materials destroyed under the supervision of upper management or by a carefully selected, high security service.

Contact MicroShred Inc. Florida today to handle all your confidential shredding needs.

Incidental Business Records Discarded On A Daily Basis Should Be Protected

Without a program to control it, the daily trash of every business contains information that could be harmful. This information is especially useful to competitors because it contains the details of current activities. Discarded daily records include phone messages, memos, misprinted forms, drafts of bids and drafts of correspondence.

All businesses suffer potential exposure due to the need to discard these incidental business records. The only means of minimizing this exposure is to make sure such information is securely collected and destroyed.

Contact MicroShred Inc. Florida today to handle all your confidential shredding needs.