Canadian Man faces Identity Theft charges

By Keith Gerein

A 29-year-old Alberta man has been charged in an alleged identity theft ring after police seized hundreds of credit cards, bank cards and various forms of identification. The stolen information and property, belonging to more than 100 people, was taken mainly from vehicles and gym locker-rooms, as well as some homes and businesses, Edmonton police Detective David Butt said.

Officers also recovered a universal memory exchanger designed to transfer data--contact numbers, personal information and photos --from one cellphone to another.

"But in the case of criminal activity, they are using it to download people's personal information to their own cellphones to then use for identity theft. It does amaze me in terms of the scope of it. These people are very organized, and using complicated, sophisticated equipment," Butt said.

First, the thefts occur. Gyms are one of the most popular targets, and the thieves are frequently women, sometimes armed with bolt cutters. They use women to go into the locker-rooms because women seem less suspicious. The stolen items are then sold to a middleman, who packages them and sells them to a third party who commits fraud.

• This is a complex operation that may be replicated in your area. Reports of thefts from gyms should be looked at closely.
• To read this Edmonton Journal article, please click here.
• To read a related Edmonton Journal article on counterfeit credit cards, click here.