Microsoft co-founder falls victim to ID theft

Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA

Even the billionaire co-founder of Microsoft isn’t immune to identity theft, it seems.

A simple scheme to defraud Paul Allen, one of the richest men in the world, has landed an AWOL soldier in federal custody, authorities said this week. The case raises basic questions about how safe anyone’s information really can be.

Federal investigators allege in a complaint unsealed Monday that Brandon Lee Price, 28, changed the address on a bank account held by Allen, then had a debit card sent to his Pittsburgh home to use for payments on a delinquent Armed Forces Bank account and personal expenses.

So, how would someone go about stealing the identity of the man who helped start a company that itself was a pioneer in digital security?

Price called Citibank in January pretending to be Allen and changed the address on one of Allen’s accounts from Seattle to Pittsburgh, then called back three days later to say he had lost his debit card and asked for a new one to be sent to him, an FBI investigator wrote in a criminal complaint filed in February.

The card sent to Allen’s address was used to attempt a $15,000 Western Union transaction and make a $658.81 payment on the Armed Forces Bank loan account the day it was activated, according to the complaint. Surveillance footage also captured him attempting purchases at a video-game store and a dollar store, authorities alleged.

The fraud was detected by the bank, which alerted law-enforcement officials. None of Allen’s other accounts was compromised, and the only transaction that apparently made it through was the loan payment, he said.