FBI: Identity theft is a growing concern

Fraud is at its all-time worst in the United States, an agent said.
By AMANDA C. DAVIS
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
HOWLAND -- Many of the 19 suicide hijackers responsible for the Sept. 11 terrorism attacks were able to get away with it.
So a Cleveland FBI agent wants the public to know just how easy identity theft is.
That was one subject discussed during the Trumbull County Bar Association's 21st annual probate practice seminar Friday at Leo's Ristorante.
Keith Slotter, a special agent with the FBI's Cleveland office, said identity theft is one example of white-collar crime that has taken off in recent years.
Many of the hijackers, whose pictures have appeared in national publications, stole identities before crashing planes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field outside Pittsburgh, the agent said.
Bazetta police Chief Bob Jacola said identity theft is a problem that causes many headaches for victims and law enforcement agencies.
"We always try to warn people to be extremely careful who they give their personal identification to."
Slotter said the FBI's investigation into the attacks is the most important one it has ever undertaken, noting the agency had no prior knowledge of the hijacker's sinister plan.
Other major concerns: Before Sept. 11, the FBI's biggest concern was fraud, which Slotter said is worse than it's ever been in this country, for many reasons, including declining corporate and individual ethics.
A 1998 survey he cited shows more than 50 percent of all firms polled had been defrauded in the previous year. Of those cases, 84 percent were committed by employees.
Other examples of white-collar crimes that have become a problem in the U.S. are health care fraud, public corruption, telemarketing scams, environmental crimes, money laundering and computer crimes.
At least $500 billion is lost to fraud each year in the United States -- a figure Slotter calls conservative.
Check fraud is another problem, the agent said, because the United Sates is one of the last check-writing societies in the world.
Checks and credit cards can be stolen out of homes, purses and mailboxes, he said, and "check washing" is a problem because it allows criminals to remove ink handwriting on a check by using a common household item.
davis@vindy.com