Valley tops list of identity thefts

McALLEN - The Rio Grande Valley is a hub for identity theft and officials say illegal immigration is likely to blame.

For the second year in a row, the McAllen area ranked 5th for the number of identify theft complaints in the country in 2007, among metro areas with populations of 100,000 or more, according to a report from the Federal Trade Commission.

This is the second year the numbers have been compiled and also the second time the South Texas region has poorly fared. The Brownsville-Harlingen area actually edged the McAllen area to take the 4th spot in the FTC list. Laredo was No. 12.

The report, released in February, compiled self-reported and unverified consumer complaints from the FTC's database.

Local officials blamed the high number of complaints on illegal immigration and exaggeration of unverified reports.

Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño said illegal immigrants trying to fashion a new identity sometimes steal the Social Security numbers and names of legal residents to get jobs, homes and credit inside the United States.

"Our proximity to the border, our high number of illegal criminal immigrants entering the country, taking advantage of the situation," Treviño said. "Even those illegal immigrants that are not committing (violent) crimes are still involving themselves in ID theft."

The entire Mexican border region is plagued by high instances of identity theft, according to the study. Of the top 25 cities, 17 are in border states.

Identity theft occurs when someone's personal information such as Social Security number or name is illegally used to apply for credit, loans, and jobs or to make a purchase.

In 2007, the Brownsville-Harlingen area led Texas with 876 complaints - one complaint for about every 442 people.

But those complaints are unverified and at least one local police official suggested identity theft numbers are often exaggerated.

McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez said many perceived instances of so-called identity theft are simply reports of lost wallets or purses. The actual theft of someone's identity has not occurred, but because there is potential for abuse, it's reported as a stolen identity, Rodriguez said.

"It's a sign of the times," Rodriguez said. "We're doing investigations into things today that 15 or 20 years we never thought we would be."

Still, officials suggested, identity theft can occur, especially in this area. Sometimes it is as simple as a person rummaging through trash to mine for personal data. Other times, it's a sophisticated criminal operation that helps with the import of illegal Mexican workers.

Recovering from a stolen identity is perhaps the most challenging part. A call to the bank or credit agency to lock the account and then fight to recover the losses is sometimes all that is necessary. Some banks cover the losses, while others don't.

But before that happens, a person must file a police report. After that, many people are clueless as to the next step, Rodriguez said.

So, the McAllen Police Department trained an identity theft specialist, Officer Nancy Peña, to deal with those cases.

She started examining the issue six weeks ago, realizing the exaggerated numbers. But Peña will also serve as a guide through the complexity of recovering an identity, Rodriguez said.

"Our goal with this, more than anything else, is to provide a service to citizens that really are victims of identity theft," Rodriguez said.

____

Sean Gaffney covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4434.

How thieves steal identities:

•· Dumpster Diving: Rummaging through trash to look for papers with personal information, such as bills and bank statements.

•· Skimming: Credit and debit card numbers are stolen by using a device attached to card reader used when purchasing something.

•· Phishing: Sending fake spam or pop-up message to get a person to give away personal information

•· Changing Address: Changing a persons address to send billing statements to another location by completing a change of address form.

•· Stealing: Wallets, pursues and bank and credit card statements from a person or their mailbox.

•· Pretexting: Calling a crediting agency and using "false pretenses" to obtain personal information, such as pretending they are from a research firm.

Source: Federal Trade Commission: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/consumers/about-identity-theft.html