University officers name three Alumni Center employees as workplace identity theft victims

By: Lindsay Lorenz

Posted: 1/29/08

1/29/08 - Three University of Rhode Island employees that have been confirmed as victims of identity theft have led the Campus Police down a frustrating path.

The URI Police Department, in conjunction with the departments in the victims' hometowns, are working together to find who is responsible for lifting personal information and using it to commit fraud.

Campus Police Officer Thomas Kent, who is assigned to the case, explained that the criminal likely stole information that may have been lying out in the open around the workplace.

"In this day and age, all you need is a name and a Social Security number to commit this fraud," Kent said.

Police fielded the first reports of possible identity theft in November. The third came in just a week ago.

The employees who were victimized, whose names have not been released, all work at the Alumni Center. After sharing their unfortunate tales among co-workers, the employees discovered that they were not alone.

The coincidence led police to believe the crimes were related.

"They spoke among themselves, compared notes and said 'Gee whiz, this happened to me too," Kent recalled. "That's when we realized it was the same person."

Though identity theft is a simple crime to master, catching the culprit is not.

"It's the fastest growing crime in the country by far," Kent said. Kent continued that it is difficult to investigate such theft because as a fairly new phenomenon, many officers are not trained in the area.

"It's really up to the person to safeguard their personal information," he said.

Kent said that once it has been confirmed that identity theft occurred, a fraud alert is attached to the persons credit report, which can make applying for a credit card or buying a car a more detailed process.

"It's a real pain in the neck for the next seven years," he said. "They really take extra care to ensure it doesn't happen again ... It's important to review all three credit reports as often as possible."

Doing so keeps potential victims aware of any activity they did not commit. Kent added that by law citizens are allowed one free credit check each year from one of the three companies.

Kent advises everyone not to leave any personal information, especially that which may contain a date of birth or a Social Security number. If your identity has been stolen, report it to your hometown police.

Kent said that police will keep the university updated. He expects two to three weeks before anything definite will be brought to the table as subpoenas are being issued.

"The investigation is ongoing. We have some very good leads," he said.

"It's troublesome, but it's a problem that's everywhere," said Claudette Downey. Downey works evenings in the Memorial Union at the Information Desk. Downey said she is generally cautious when it comes to the Internet. "I don't put too much out there anyway," she said.

Karen Blanding, a custodian agrees. "It makes me very uncomfortable knowing that personal info is out there," she said. "That's my personal space," she said about her e-mail. "When I go on the computer I don't put a lot of information on there." Blanding said she is cautious of the dangers that lurk in cyberspace.