Identity thief writes $12,000 in checks to Home Depot on Saline woman's account
An identity thief used a 62-year-old Saline woman’s bank account to make about $12,000 in purchases from southeastern Michigan Home Depot stores in September, police said.
The woman reported the crimes this weekend after Bank of America alerted her that her account had been used to make four purchases between $2,432 and $3,495.88 at local Home Depot stores in September. Two purchases occurred on Sept. 12, one of Sept. 14 and one on Sept. 16, police said.
The first check was made out to a Home Depot store in Canton on Sept. 12 for $2,432. Later that day, a Home Depot store in Dearborn received a check for $3,495.88 from the same account. On Sept. 14, an unknown Home Depot store received a check from the woman’s account for $3,113.64, and two days later the final purchase of $2,880.93 was made at a Home Depot store in Dearborn, the police report said.
The woman shares the account with her son, the report stated.
The police report stated all transactions at Home Depot are recorded on surveillance cameras. The department is in the process of getting search warrants for the tapes, the report stated.
The same woman had filed a previous police report earlier this year about an identity theft case, according to police.
Kyle Feldscher covers cops and courts for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at kylefeldscher@annarbor.com or you can follow him on Twitter.
Comments
Gorc
Tue, Nov 8, 2011 : 2:51 a.m.
A very high percentage of identity thieft is from someone the victim knows or is related. And why is Home Depot not cooperating with the police investigation and forcing detectives to get a warrant for surveillance video. Unless they have something to cover up.
treetowncartel
Mon, Nov 7, 2011 : 9:02 p.m.
OI agree Cash, could have used a fake ID. Checks can be cleared cleared on the spot now, swiped through a reader and the money is out of your account before you get the goods in the vehicle. One other thing to note, like most of the police blotter stories, we don't have all the facts. It says she had a joint account with her son. I am not speculating or allegating, just pointing to that as something that may, or may not, have an impact on the outcome down the road.
Cash
Mon, Nov 7, 2011 : 8:13 p.m.
No doubt had a fake ID....easy enough to obtain one.
Marilyn Wilkie
Mon, Nov 7, 2011 : 7:31 p.m.
Glad to hear that transactions are recorded on surveillance tape. I am curious about whether they asked for and received id from the perpetrator. Checks in those amounts should certainly require it.
golfer
Mon, Nov 7, 2011 : 7:30 p.m.
2nd time for identity theft. also deals done in sept. see said notified this past weekend. wow kind of slow response time?
grimmk
Mon, Nov 7, 2011 : 7:26 p.m.
Where I work we ask for ID on check and we have a bad check list we have to check. We get Driver License, check address and get a phone number. I always check to see if the picture matches the person. Some give me a hassle over it. I hope they read this and think twice!
tinkerbell
Tue, Nov 8, 2011 : 4:30 p.m.
When a business accepts a forged check, they are the ones that lose. By the way, djacks 24 you recuperate from an illness. You recoup bad checks.
djacks24
Mon, Nov 7, 2011 : 8:31 p.m.
Once again, businesses having these kinds of security measures for checks is protected the businesses interests and not the customers. Its near impossible for a business to recuperate the money from a bounced check. When it comes to credit/debit cards, businesses get paid either way, so they could care less. Also, its really not the businesses problem if you can't keep your information safe and secure.
grimmk
Mon, Nov 7, 2011 : 7:27 p.m.
I didn't mean to use the word "check" so much.
apples
Mon, Nov 7, 2011 : 7 p.m.
Wow, If I go in to pay my bill with a check, they often ask for ID. How can you not require ID when someone is buying items ? Sounds like it's time for HD to update the computer system. This is very disturbing to me.
sellers
Tue, Nov 8, 2011 : 12:40 p.m.
Watch next time, how many really check the ID and compare it to you or your signature. Far too few I bet. It's an industry of in and out - and clerks are setup for failure in most cases.
djacks24
Mon, Nov 7, 2011 : 9:11 p.m.
Oops, I guess they were checks that were passed. I find that very hard to believe unless it was a well done fake id.
djacks24
Mon, Nov 7, 2011 : 8:26 p.m.
Everybody wants an id when paying by check to get your drivers license number with all the check fraud over the decades. That's basically a business watching over themselves, and so much protecting your interests. In the case over credit/debit cards, they could care less and aren't making/saving a single scent more by watching over your finances. That's pretty much your problem if you can't be more careful with your account number or don't have a really good secure password for your bank that is changed regularly. Guess you've never owned on of those new fangled credit/debit cards that act just like paper money?
grye
Mon, Nov 7, 2011 : 6:51 p.m.
That is too bad for the poor woman. I hope this meets annarbor.com's stringent guidelines and isn't deleted.