Colorado Hit With Identity Theft
Identity theft, while it hasn't happen to many of us, is still a scary proposition. Everything from raided bank accounts to large credit card purchases to the entire theft of who we are can be an event an individual never recovers from. Recently the state of Colorado has been hit with hackers and scammers who have been running an ID scam by using forged business identities in order to make purchases from retailers. At least 35 various businesses and maybe more have discovered their corporate identities have been exploited and fraudulent credit accounts have been posted in places including Office Depot, Home Depot, Dell, Lowe's, and Dell. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation has noticed the ID scammers have made off with a minimum of $750,000 in deceitful purchases at Home Depot alone. The Colorado Bureau of Investigation has also stated five individuals in California have been apprehended in connection with the corporate identification scam. The Bureau does not know how many other businesses may have been hit, but the ID scam appears to be continuing and increasing with more people or groups who are likely involved in related scams. Texas law enforcement authorities have estimated at least one similar episode has taken place.
It appears the corporate identity thefts became a possibility because of the open business registration platform within the office of the Colorado Secretary of State. Whenever a company desires to do business in Colorado they must register the details of their company or their business. All of the details of the registration including the name of the company, the local address, and other critical information become public record. The state of Colorado not only allows anyone to view the information, they also allow almost anyone to edit or update the information. The Colorado website does not require any username or password, thus allowing anyone to gain access to a company's registration data. This is how the identification scammers gained access to a company's registration information. The majority of the companies that was targeted seems to be a small to midsize firm, and in several cases companies that were no longer in business. All the scammers had to do was change the registration information and then utilize the falsely created identity to apply online for credit lines with various retailers.
A spokesperson for the Colorado Secretary of State, Bernie Buecher, said the practice of not utilizing passwords and usernames in order to control who has access to the registration information is at least a 10-year-old process. It was installed as we make the system very easy to use and was done at a point in time when identity theft was not the current problem is now. Businesses do have the option of e-mail notifications that will give notice whenever any edits are performed on their registration information. Within the state of Colorado it is a felony if an individual makes changes to registration information that has not been authorized. Since this scam has been discovered, the state of Colorado does request that businesses are aware of their registration information but always check to make sure unauthorized changes have not been performed. Businesses should also sign up for e-mail notifications and alerts. The state of Colorado does not plan to install a password and username control system until it has been approved in the state budget.
Colorado State authorities discovered the scam when a business was contacted by Home Depot about various purchases they were supposed to have made with a total of approximately $250,000. As the online credit application was reviewed by Citibank, it was discovered someone change the company's registration data and its location from Boulder Colorado tour virtual location in Aurora Colorado there. The individuals who supposedly owned virtual office in Aurora left instructions to forward the company's mail to a second virtual office located in Harbor City California. Those involved in the identification scam then made online purchases including televisions, refrigerators, household appliances, and various electronic items. An unusual large amount of copper wiring was also purchase. The in-store purchases and pickups was performed using ‘street urchins’.
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