Retailers indicted in US$22m identity theft fraud

Eight people have been indicted for a clever sting involving two phone retailers allegedly carrying out massive identity theft.

The indictment states that two of the accused owned mobile phone retailers - Got Wireless, also known as USA Wireless, in New York and KP Wireless, in West Palm Beach, Florida.

The indictment states that the two accused used their access codes to the T-Mobile and AT&T customer databases and stole customer details.

A series of ‘mules’ were then hired and the eight allegedly used the stolen data to call up the two companies and ask for replacement phones, claiming their existing models were defective or had been lost. When the replacement handsets arrived they were sold in the two shops.

In addition the team used the customer information to order new phone lines in the customer’s names and order new handsets to service them.

If convicted the eight face 20 year sentences, with the two shop owners also receiving a possible extra two years for identity theft.