Be Careful on Hotel & Public Computers: Criminal Busted for Major Fraud

If you've ever felt paranoid about checking your personal accounts on a public computer, including a hotel room, your paranoia is well placed. Read this story about a man who lived in luxury by stealing credit card, payroll and banking account info from public computers. Here's the story, which ran earlier this month on PRNewswire-USNewswire.

"Man Pleads Guilty in Complex Computer Fraud Scheme Victimizing Hundreds of Individuals

A Colombian citizen guilty today to a 16-count indictment involving a complex computer fraud scheme victimizing over 600 people, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta for the Southern District of Florida and U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the United States Postal Inspection Service announced today.

R. Alexander Acosta, U.S. Attorney for the SDFL, stated, "Unfortunately, this is not an isolated case. The Internet is an outstanding tool, but it is vulnerable. Criminals like Bonilla use the Internet to steal our banking and personal data, and then our money. When you travel, please think twice before entering personal or financial data on a public computer."

According to the indictment, Mario Simbaqueba Bonilla, 40, alone and in concert with a co-conspirator, engaged in a complex series of computer intrusions, aggravated identity thefts and credit card frauds designed to steal money from payroll, bank and other accounts of their victims. Much of the identity theft activity - initiated by Simbaqueba Bonilla from computers in Colombia - targeted individuals residing in the U.S., including Department of Defense personnel.

Simbaqueba Bonilla used the money to buy expensive electronics and luxury travel and accommodations in various countries, including Hong Kong, Turks and Caicos, France, Jamaica, Italy, Chile, and the United States.

Simbaqueba Bonilla, as outlined in the indictment and the proffer of facts offered at his guilty plea hearing, engaged in a conspiracy that began with illegally installing keystroke logging software on computers located in hotel business centers and internet lounges around the world.

This software would collect the personal information of those who used the computers, including passwords and other personal identifying information the victims used to access their bank, payroll, brokerage and other accounts online. Simbaqueba Bonilla used the data he intercepted from his victims, who were typically guests at hotels throughout the country, to steal or divert money from their accounts into other accounts he had created in the names of other people he had victimized in the same way.

Then, through a complex series of electronic transactions designed to cover his trail, Simbaqueba Bonilla would transfer the stolen money to credit, cash or debit cards and have the cards mailed to himself and others at Pak Mail and other commercial mailing addresses he opened across the country.

Federal agents arrested Simbaqueba Bonilla when he flew into the United States last August. At the time of his arrest, Simbaqueba Bonilla was flying on an airline ticket purchased with stolen funds, and had in his possession a laptop also purchased with stolen funds. That laptop contained the names, passwords, and other personal and financial information of more than 600 people."

Source: Deparment of Justice

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Woman Fights Hospital over Missing Foot: Medical Identity Theft Strikes Again!

Medical identity theft is one of the latest scams in the ID crime theft business. BusinessWeek reports that criminals are stealing IDs in order to get expensive medical care. The scenario forces innocent consumers to fight unreal hospital bills.

One woman, for example, had to argue about a missing foot. She flashed her own feet (still attached) to prove that she was not the amputee, who had undergone expensive surgery.

Here's the snippet:

When Lind Weaver opened her mailbox one day in early 2004, she was surprised to find a bill from a local hospital for the amputation of her right foot. Surprised because the 57-year-old owner of a horse farm in Palm Coast, Fla., had never had worse than an ingrown toenail.

After weeks of wrangling with the hospital's billing representatives, Weaver stormed into the medical center and kicked her heels up on the desk of the chief administrator. "Obviously, I have both of my feet," she told him. source: BusinesWeek

Earlier, I wrote this piece about medical fraud.
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The Frugal Duchess Boutique
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Attn Shoppers: Credit Card Security Breach at T.J. Maxx & Marshalls

If you have shopped at Marshalls or T.J. Maxx since 2003, check your credit card and bank statements. The Wall Street Journal reports that credit-card information was stolen from the parent company of those two stores and the theft could hit the security of 40 million credit cards.

You should be concerned about this info theft if --since May of 2003-- you have:


1. Shopped with a credit card at T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and their affiliated stores.

2. Ditto for debit cards

3. Provided those stores with your license number (for a check)

4. Returned merchandise to those stores over that time period.


Here's a link to a preview of the story.

TJX said customer information was stolen from a computer network that handles a wide range of financial information, including credit cards, debit cards linked to checking accounts and transactions for returned merchandise. It didn't provide details of the breach, saying only that it discovered in December that an "unauthorized intruder" accessed its computer systems. Some drivers' license numbers also were stolen. --WSJ

I have shopped at Marshalls during that period. Therefore, I am going to take the steps recommended by the company:

The company urged customers to review their account statements for potential fraud and set up a toll-free number (866-484-6978) for those with questions about the situation. TJX also said it would provide tips on preventing credit- and debit-card fraud and steps customers can take to protect their personal information at www.tjx.com. --WSJ

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The Frugal Duchess Boutique
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