Credit Card Debt Management

Investigators from the New York Police Department and other agencies struck a major blow against identity theft recently by exposing a massive credit card fraud ring. It seems the ring was manufacturing credit cards and driver’s licenses using information obtained from retail stores’ customer databases. Shopping teams would fly throughout the U.S. and use the forged cards and licenses to purchase expensive purses and electronics like flat-screen TVs and iPods. The merchandise would be shipped back to headquarters in Queens, NY and sold at a discounted price over the Internet.

The forged licenses were good enough to pass airport security, which many are pointing to as a homeland security risk. At least $1 million worth of merchandise was purchased using fake Visa, American Express, MasterCard and Discover cards, according to BusinessWeek. Altogether 39 people were charged federally with various charges, including identity theft. The ring’s boss, Kwok Chow, was Chinese, and had teams of workers assigned to web site maintenance, shopping, and producing the highly authentic fake cards.

This not only tells you to be careful what you buy on the Internet, but also to protect your identity. It can be nearly impossible to protect against episodes like this, but a credit monitoring service can help you at least become immediately aware of when your identity has been compromised.