As the recent OPM hack showed, identity theft is a concern for civilians, military and public servants alike.
These recent cases show that ID theft can rear its ugly head in our military and police forces—sometimes with soldiers and officers perpetrating the crimes.
Man charged with targeting fellow Marines for ID theft
A former Marine faces trial for allegedly stealing the identities of other Marines and walking away with more than $138,000, the Chicago Tribune reports.
Authorities say Leonard Parker Jr. obtained personal information about several Marines while he was stationed in Okinawa, Japan and then drained their bank accounts with co-defendant Dontreal Evans after returning to the US.
Parker is also charged with filing false tax returns in his own name and the names of three Marines. He was in the Marines for nearly four years until a bad-conduct discharge in June 2013 for theft and making a false statement.
Army National Guard hit by data breach
The Army National Guard has suffered a data breach involving the personal information of more than 850,000 current and former members, according to the Army Times.
A contract employee unintentionally transferred files to an unapproved data center. The information dates back to 2004 and includes soldier names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth and addresses.
Officials don’t believe the information was accessed by an outside party or used for fraud. However, the National Guard has established a help line and website to assist those affected in protecting their identities.
Former police officer charged with stealing identities
Identity theft charges are piling up against a former Alabama police officer, the Dothan Eagle reports.
Former officer Charles Thomas Simmer was arrested earlier this year for 18 identity theft-related charges. Additional charges were added after two more alleged victims came forward.
Investigators say victims include people who were in the military with Simmer.
Deputy police chief pleads guilty to hacking
A former Illinois deputy police chief pleaded guilty to hacking into the business email of his girlfriend’s ex husband, according to the Daily Herald.
Robert Beeter faced 20 counts of identity theft and misconduct, which were dropped in exchange for the guilty plea. He was sentenced to two years probation, 50 hours of community service and $1,140 in court fees and fines. Beeter, his girlfriend and her ex-husband were all members of the same police force.
If Beeter violates probation, he could receive up to seven years in prison.
(This article was originally published on July 22, 2015)
LifeLock provides proactive identity theft protection services for consumers and identity risk and credit worthiness assessment for enterprises. Since its founding in 2005, LifeLock has been a pioneer in identity protection, leveraging unique data, science and patented technology and providing identity threat detection, proactive identity alerts, and comprehensive remediation services. Active and retired military veterans and their immediate family members are eligible for a 30 days free, 15% off discount. For more information, call 1-800-Lifelock and reference promo code MMS or visit https://store.lifelock.com/enrollment?promocode=militarydeals.
