Eight indicted in $22 million ID theft scam

A company can never let its guard down. A new indictment in a case in New York makes that pretty clear.

Eight people were indicted last week for allegedly using the stolen identities of AT&T, T-Mobile and Asurion customers to steal $22 million worth of wireless equipment and services.

The indictment charged that the eight individuals obtained dealer access codes for AT&T's and T-Mobile's online customer databases.  It was then simple for the defendants to allegedly obtain existing customer information from customer databases, according to DarkReading.com.

Sometimes, the indictment alleged, the defendants called AT&T and T-Mobile, adding new lines of service to existing customer accounts. At other times, they allegedly called the two companies and falsely claimed that a wireless device belonging to a customer was defective and asked for a replacement.

For more on this indictment:
- check out this DarkReading.com article

Related Articles:
Researchers: Social Security numbering system is crackable
Medical ID theft rampant
FTC: ID theft surges in '08
Cybercrime on the rise