[music]
00:49
[phone ringing]
Mr. Patterson: I'll get it.
00:50
Hello?
00:51
Hey, Joyce. Any word yet?
00:58
What? I don't understand. What credit cards?
01:02
Got any credit cards we don't know about?
01:04
Mrs. Patterson: No.
01:05
But we never even got a past-due notice.
01:10
Maryland? No, there has to be some sort of mistake.
01:14
We don't live there. Can we get a copy of the credit report?
01:18
That's not our address. Well, who should I talk to? Look, I understand, but...
01:24
And the bank? What about the loan? All right. Okay. Thanks for calling.
01:38
Mrs. Patterson: What did she say?
01:40
Mr. Patterson: They apparently can't approve the loan for the new house.
01:42
They say we've got three delinquent credit-card accounts.
01:45
Mr. Patterson: That's impossible. We only have the...
01:47
Mr. Patterson: Get this. It's not even our address. They're billed to an address in Maryland.
01:51
Mrs. Patterson: Maryland?
Mr. Patterson: I know, it's crazy.
01:54
Mrs. Patterson: What about the house?
[four months earlier]
[pinball machine sounds]
02:10
Man playing pinball: Man... I gotta get me one of these.
02:13
Man with computer: It's nice, right? I picked it up last week. It's amazing what you can do with good credit.
02:20
Man, check this out. I paid this guy 500 bucks to get me system access to the ISP.
02:28
Man playing pinball: Run that by me again in English.
02:30
Man with computer: It's simple. I got thousands of E-mail accounts that I got access to.
02:36
I can see people's personal stuff that they get without them knowing it.
02:41
See this mailbox here, that's this guy named Patterson. Patterson lives over in Wildwood.
02:47
He just sent out a file.
02:52
You know what that is?
02:54
That is a copy of last year's tax return that Señor Patterson was sending to his real-estate agent.
03:00
We just take the names and the Social
03:02
Security numbers, open up a couple credit cards in his name. Boom!
03:06
Man playing pinball: Won't they catch on?
03:08
Man with computer: No, man. No, no.
03:10
Even if they do, it'll be long after you've got a pinball machine in your crib.
03:14
Man playing pinball: Sweet. What can I do?
03:17
Man with computer: You can help out with the shopping sprees.
03:23
Keep what we want. Pawn the rest.
03:26
I love computers.
[dance music]
03:50
Guy in bar: We need to stop hitting mailboxes before somebody gets smart.
03:54
2nd guy in bar: It's no sweat. You know my new girl, Mandy?
03:58
She works in payroll at this big place in Adamsburg. She's gonna start hooking us up.
04:04
Employment applications. All kinds of stuff from over there.
04:08
Guy in bar: Ain't she gonna know we're up to something?
04:10
2nd guy: No, I told her I needed the info for this telemarketing thing I'm doing.
04:13
I said it would increase my commissions if I got new names for the list.
04:17
"Baby, if they don't want to buy, they can just hang up."
Guy in bar: Sweet.
04:20
2nd guy: I told her we wanted applications from the people they didn't hire.
04:25
That way, no way it comes back on us.
04:27
Guy in bar: You think she's cool?
04:29
2nd guy: Hell, yeah, man. She's got a kid and stuff. She don't care where the free dinners are coming from as long as they keep coming.
04:36
Guy in bar: That's brutal.
04:37
2nd guy: Speak of the devil. There's my baby.
[dance music]
04:48
Receptionist: Hi. Can I help you?
04:50
Postal Inspector Alan Goddard: I'm Postal Inspector Alan Goddard. I'm looking for Mandy Richards.
04:54
Mandy: This is Mandy.
04:56
Goddard: Hi. Mandy Richards? I'm Postal Inspector Alan Goddard. This is my partner, Inspector Niece.
05:02
Is there someplace we can talk in private?
05:06
Mandy: I guess we can go into the break room.
05:11
Goddard: Yeah, that'd be fine.
05:16
You recognize this man?
05:18
Mandy: Yeah, that's my boyfriend, Nick. Is he in trouble?
05:21
Inspector Niece: You're both in trouble, Mandy. You want to tell us about the applications you've been giving him?
05:26
Mandy: He's been using those to do telemarketing.
05:30
[2nd guy in bar: Hooking us up.]
05:32
Goddard: What if I told you he's been using them illegally, and he's running a mail-fraud scam?
05:38
What if I told you that makes you an accessory to a Federal crime?
05:42
Mandy: I don't know anything about that.
05:44
Niece: Your boyfriend slipped up, Mandy. He bought a car a few weeks ago on someone else's credit.
05:49
Then he sold it for some quick cash, but he forgot to clean it up first. Guess what we found under the seat.
05:56
It didn't take long to figure out where he got this.
05:59
Mandy: I didn't know. He said no one was gonna get in trouble.
06:02
Goddard: Mandy, we believe you. But I'm not sure a jury will.
06:08
Why don't you help yourself?
06:11
Mandy: Look, I didn't know. I swear. I cannot go to jail. My little girl.
06:17
Niece: Be smart, Mandy. We can't promise anything. But we'll tell the U.S. Attorney you cooperated, if you help us with Nick.
06:31
Mandy: What do I have to do?
06:47
Mandy's boyfriend: Mandy, baby, what's up?
06:50
Mandy: Don't come here with that. You've been playing me.
06:53
Mandy's boyfriend: What you talking about? I'm straight with you.
06:55
Mandy: You keep telling me you're using these for a telemarketing list.
06:58
You get a new car every couple months. You move from one nice place to the other.
07:02
You don't make that cash talking on the phone.
07:05
Mandy's boyfriend: I told you it's all commission.
07:07
Plus we got that computer thing. There's those websites.
07:10
Mandy: What kind of fool do you think I am? I'm not gonna risk my job so you can spend money on some tramp.
07:17
Boyfriend: Baby, it's not like that.
07:19
Mandy: Look, I got a kid to think about. Until you cut me in for some of the money, you can forget about these applications.
07:26
Boyfriend: Mandy, you know I ain't got no other woman. I don't know what you're talking about.
07:30
There's no scam.
07:33
Boyfriend's friend, Darrell: Hey, man, we ain't got all day!
07:36
Mandy: Did you meet Darrell in church?
07:43
Boyfriend: All right look, we got a little thing going.
07:46
It's no big deal. We're just opening credit-card accounts in these folks' names, pop them for a few grand at a time.
07:53
The credit-card companies cover the money. Nobody's getting hurt.
07:58
Mandy: You're crazy. I could go to jail for helping you with this. Who's gonna take care of my girl then?
08:03
Boyfriend: Listen, baby, I'm telling you, it's nothing.
08:07
It's like we max out these credit cards, right? We keep paying the minimum on the bill. Nobody ever suspects a thing.
08:13
I been taking care of you. What do you think's been paying for these clothes?
08:19
Mandy: If I risk my neck, you cut me in for some of the green, too.
08:23
Boyfriend: No. ... All right, I'll have to ask Darrell about it.
08:29
He's not gonna like bringing in anybody new.
08:32
Inspector: Our suspect in the car, Darrell Henderson, has priors for weapons charges.
08:35
Do this one by the book.
08:37
Boyfriend: I said we'll see, all right? Now, I need those names.
08:43
Mandy: You got one of those credit cards on you? Give me one. Let me go buy my baby some clothes. That's the least you can do.
08:51
We'll talk about everything else later.
08:53
Boyfriend: All right, whatever.
08:56
Inspector: That's it.
09:01
Boyfriend: Here. Now, don't go crazy with that. Don't shop anywhere people know you.
09:06
And don't say a word to Darrell about this. Are we cool? Are we cool?
09:12
Mandy: Yeah, we're cool.
[music]
10:06
[police car siren]
10:10
[police radio sounds]
10:30
Narrator Inspector: Darrell and Nick are serving time in a Federal prison.
10:34
Mandy lost her job.
10:36
Unfortunately for the Pattersons, it took several months and hundreds of dollars in legal fees to clean up their credit reports and clear their good name.
10:43
In the meantime, their dream home was sold to another buyer, and they're struggling to repair the damage done by these crooks.
10:51
The really sad thing is it might have been prevented by following four simple steps.
10:57
First, deposit all outgoing mail in a blue postal collection box, rather than using your residential mailbox.
11:04
In parts of the country, theft from residential mailboxes is a real problem.
11:09
Second, shred or burn unwanted preapproved credit applications and financial statements,
11:14
old credit cards, and other documents.
11:17
Thieves often will go through trash containers or even Dumpsters to find these items and use them to steal your identity.
11:23
Third, once a year, order a copy of your own credit report, especially before making large purchases like a new home or car.
11:32
Check it carefully for any activity you did not authorize.
11:36
Also, check for accounts you might have forgotten to close.
11:39
Sometimes thieves take over these old accounts and use them to order new credit cards or checks.
11:45
Fourth, limit the amount of personal information that you give out over the telephone and Internet.
11:51
Try to ensure you only provide such information to reputable companies, and be sure to read their policies
11:57
on confidentiality to be sure they aren't sharing your information with anyone else.
12:02
If you think you've been the victim of identity theft, you need to report it. Contact your local United States Postal Inspector.
12:09
You can find the number on our website at USPS.COM/POSTALINSPECTORS.
12:16
Identity theft is the fastest-growing crime in America, but it doesn't have to happen to you.
[music]
