Thread: Weld County, CO Prosecutor Warns of ID Theft Impact

Thursday, January 29, 2009
Prosecutor warns of ID theft impact
Chris Casey


["The Colorado Attorney General's Office has produced an Identity Theft Repair Kit. It can be ordered by calling (303) 866-4500 or (800) 222-4444, or online at www.ago.state.co.us/idtheft/IDTheft.cfm ]


A Weld County prosecutor shared examples Wednesday of identity theft that cut close to the wallet, including cases that sprang from seemingly benign transactions at local restaurants.

Adam Espinosa, a Weld assistant district attorney, joined Janet Drake, Colorado assistant attorney general, for a two-hour seminar about identity theft. About 25 people attended the event, organized by Students in Free Enterprise, Wednesday night at the University of Northern Colorado.

Espinosa mentioned a local restaurant — now closed — that was harnessing credit card information and selling it to another party, who then made fraudulent purchases. He also cited a recent case involving a deli clerk. Feigning a problem with the card-swipe machine, the clerk copied customers’ credit card information on paper before later tipping herself and running up charges, including at a local grocery store.

Espinosa said that out of 2,300 felony cases prosecuted by the Weld DA last year, 500, or 22 percent, involved identification theft or criminal impersonation.

Identity theft is the fastest-growing crime in the United States, according to the Colorado Attorney General’s Office. As recently as 2005, Espinosa said, Colorado ranked in the top five nationally for identity theft-related cases. The elderly are especially vulnerable, he noted.

“This is the kind of crime that a lot of people think isn’t a big deal in our community, or may think there’s no victim, but really it is,â€

[quote]Drake said it’s a complicated problem, made worse by people south of the border who sell prepared documents to Mexican natives, who then “believe they are here with legal status … [b]and are surprised when told (their documents) aren’t valid.â€

[b][quote="miguelina"][quote]Drake said it’s a complicated problem, made worse by people south of the border who sell prepared documents to Mexican natives, who then “believe they are here with legal status … [b]and are surprised when told (their documents) aren’t valid.â€