City Journal: Identity theft and illegal immigration
Must read. Good one to print out and read on the subway or bus. Or, if you’re a McCain-backing agribusiness/service-industry executive, in your Bentley. Use recycled paper!
What’s that? You demand a fair use excerpt? Oh, twist my arm:
One disturbing theory: health-care employees with access to children’s files are working for organized gangs that trade in illegal documents and are willing to pay richly for the data. “We have a major problem with workers in medical offices stealing patients’ identities, selling them and making a direct profit,” Sergeant James Bracke of the Phoenix Police Department told authors of the Arizona report. The gangs can afford these bribes because identity theft has become such a big business. In Phoenix, “coyotes,” the smugglers who lead illegal immigrants over our borders, have created a network of phony-document producers and safe houses where undocumented workers can wait until they get their fraudulent papers.
Author Steven Malanga doesn’t even get into the most sinister aspect of the subculture of identity theft that our open borders engenders: it’s not just day-laborers who use the services of these document fraudsters and identity thieves. There’s a 7-11 in Falls Church, Virginia where this whole system went about as wrong as it possibly could.
But remember, illegal immigration is a victimless crime. Now I’m going to go check the mailbox; I was expecting some ID documents for my kids a month ago and they’ve never showed up…
____
{Post by See-Dubya}
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Great trick….because who would think to monitor their toddler’s credit report.
Yeah! I do not see why it is so hard to understand why this is a victimless crime. They are paying taxes after all, and because they do not file, it is free money for our government right?
The only person who suffers is the taxpayer who does file. It is not like they count or anything. C’mon! You really think the taxpayer matters to anybody or contributes to our American society like these illegal invaders do?
(Even though I am currently in the Philippines, I apparently have a job in Florida as well)
City Journal is slowly starting to wake up on this issue.
Back in the day, they were big backers of Rudy “Amnesty City” Giuliani.
We wont see this on any of the news shows here in Southern California.
The only stories we see focus on how Immigration raids tear families apart.
I’m sure the Feds will be waiting to question you on your return. It’s not like they’re going to go after the illegal, is it?
Having been here since 2004, let me assure you, they do not wait for your return.
City Journal and the Manhattan Institute’s support on this issue is enormous. It gives border security some credibility that politicians and the media would never extend to it.
Still, open-borders advocate Tamar Jacoby is with the Manhattan Institute, so I think any change there will be incremental.
Yeh, You’re the one who takes the heat. I have never in my whole lifetime felt this listless about my Country.
These people are probably getting some of the money from la raza, paid for by US taxpayers. Mail boxes in our area are vandalized regularly. A post office box is probably the safest, but that means changing all paper work.
L
It never fails to amaze me that all the illegal supporters don’t want to have any focus on identity theft. As long as some pathetic worker from a 3rd world country gets to carve out a meager existance in the US to send money home for family members, while the rest of us have to suffer the consequences of the phony document industry. The true cost of illegal immigration has to include the time and money wasted to restore a citizen’s good credit. This crime is not taked seriously enough by our gov.
You should look at outsourcing as well. I guarantee every one of you has enough information in a computer in India to have your identity stolen. You can thank Chase/Citi/Verizon/BOA/etc for this.
The Feds don’t give a rats behind if we have our identity stolen. If they did they would not be going ahead with the new Passport cards which can be easily altered. The cards utilize a photo and a RFID chip rather than the more secure optical chip.
Remind me to get a copper envelope to carry minein.
minein = in which to carry mine…
An “easily removed” photo according to the experts and easily altered id card.
and yet, you can give authorities the exact information on how your identity was taken, where it’s being used, how they are steeling this information and NOTHING gets done.
are you listening County of San Bernardino!? a County that is bigger than most States.
Along the same lines.
When I asked Social Security if they would inform me if someone else was using my Social Security number, I was told they would not.
I was given a pamphlet on how to prevent identity theft. There is practically no defense from a social security worker or any one else who has my number from stealing it.
That just gives me a nice warm fuzzy feeling.
Russ, two years ago when our daughter was 3, she got a notice from CitiBank American Airlines Credit card regarding her account. We thought it was a joke but I called anyway. It wasn’t and took nearly 18 months to clean up her credit but someone stole the stupid thing they sent and how they got around her 2003 birthdate is beyond me but they did. But that being said, my son who will be 4 at the end of the month constantly gets the same credit cards in his name for airline miles as well.
We were in HI at the time that happened with our daughter but now we’re close to Falls Church, gotta be more careful.
This is just another example of why we need to become more proactive on immigration and sending these people back to their respective countries.
I always have to monitor my children’s credit reports, as sad as it is.
Send the illegals home.
Now.
We just signed the whole family up for Lifelock!
I check my health insurance account (I can access my info on line–I don’t rely on all of the EOB’s getting to my mailing address–monthly. With all of the MEDICAL Identity theft going on, one can’t be too careful.
I used turbo tax this year…when I had a question they hooked me up with someone in INDIA!! Lo and behold three days after paying for it and filing my credit card I was called by the credit card company and told that someone was using my charge elsewhere…..Had to get a new card…..Anyway real nice that INDIA has access to Americans tax info…. doncha think???
PS Just read on consumer alert site the other day that the Lifelock President has had his identity compromised three times!!!
I love City Journal but this is old news.
It would also be naive to overlook the employs of banks & credit card companies… if you “know where to go”
certain banks of pay phone in NYC are inhabited by individuals who claim to have “girlfriends” who work at AMEX & have provided them with a list of numbers. Ten bucks latter the will dial the overseas # of your choice, charge it to a credit card number & hand you the receiver… talk all day if you want to.
I first learned of this over 20 years ago, some of these guys have been doing this just as long…
Put all the locks on your door you want to… real crimes are inside jobs.
having your SS# on the side of a bus doesn’t help.
Check my cards, etc regularly. Got no kids, but I never feel safe.
IF the SSA won’t let a person know if someone else is using their number, though, I guess we’re just screwed.
Please pass the vaseline.
I was talking to a woman once while waiting for an oil change, she said she would let an illegal use her id to work. Then I asked her who she thought the IRS would audit once the tax returns were done, her or the illegal. That shut her up really quickly.
Identity theft and illegal immigration have gone hand in hand for years. A year or two ago Illegals were captured at a meat packing plant in Nebraska.
One of those snagged possessed an identity not her own, but she claimed she had done nothing wrong. The lady had not stolen anyone’s identity. She had purchased it from a broker. Therefore, she had done nothing wrong.
Michelle you minx, are you slumming it down at the Virginia DMV?
Get your children’s credit on a permanent fraud alert – then remove it at age 18 or when they leave the nest.
I use Lifelock. Take that third world!
Lifelock allows my wife and I to sleep a little easier at night. Of course, you have to place full faith in their abilities to actually correct the mess, should something happen.
They also submit requests to the three major credit tracking bureaus every 90 days – Equifax, Trans Union, and Experian – asking that a fraud alert be placed on your file. I’m not sure what this does other than add an “extra” layer of attention to your file should anything suspecious come up. I’m not sure it would really help, I mostly trust Lifelock because of their $1M guarantee…
I find it dispicable that I have to pay for this protection, not that I think it’s Lifelocks fault, bless them for providing such a service, but rather I blame the government for creating such a critial personal identification number and then not doing more to enact laws and ENFORCE punishments which would deter the theft in the first place.
Last time I applied for a library card they asked me for my SSN…seriously? What the hell do you need that for? I told them to fly a kite, and rightfully so. That number is between me and the IRS, not that I trust them with it either.
To throw another log on the fire, I just heard a radio ad from one of the big three (Experian, I think) about a new service that they offer. Simply pay a monthly fee and they’ll “safeguard” your personal information. Excuse me? I now have to pay for you to protect my information contained in your systems? It’s all a racket, I tell you. I so furious over this I can’t write anymore…
Good vid on Hot Air you linked to. I almost wonder if it’s worth staying in the US much longer, but the dilemma is, where to go?
If Experian are requesting a fee to safeguard your info, then personally I believe you should be able to ask them to remove all your info from their records as an alternative option. If they refuse, then that is straight out extortion, and I think anyone willing to take it to court would win.
Wonder who these illegals stole identities from. They were all working construction at the local jail!
On May 16th, 2008 at 4:59 pm, nyc123me said:
If Experian are requesting a fee to safeguard your info, then personally I believe you should be able to ask them to remove all your info from their records as an alternative option.
RIGHT FREAKIN ON!
Thanks, I needed something else to check on and worry about.
Affirmative action probably plays a role.
That is why I signed my whole family for Lifelock. I don’t want my son’s identity stolen. By the way, who is working in our hospitals nowadays, in Atlanta, a hospital worker stole a dead woman’s rings and in Los Angeles, records of stars. Disgusting. And these are people who will treat us?
Good post see-dubya. I have no children (that I know of) but plenty of nephews and nieces.
And a two year old Vent is better than no Vent at all. And Michelle was spot on back then and is still on the mark today. Thanks.
PS – O’Reilly has E.D. Hill sitting in for Michelle tonight (yes, I still feel Friday prime time on FNC belongs to Michelle).
I am still trying to figure out how day laborers pay taxes. Estimated?
This whole thing is sssssssooooooo bogus.
If someone comes here with a green card or visa they have a TIN (Taxpayer Identification Number). They are legit and pay taxes.
If people take money under the table (day laborers) then they are not paying taxes.
If they are using STOLEN social security numbers (aka identity theft) then they are paying taxes on the owner of the of the social security number.
Am I missing something here?
I use lifelock and one other monitor. You can never have enough these days. I also know that 7-11, having lived in that area for many years. Day laborers (illegals) are all over that area. It was one of the reasons why I left No. Virginia. Not only are prices cheaper where I live, but I have yet to meet a store clerk who doesn’t speak perfectly good English. And, I don’t have illegals hanging all over the neighborhood malls and stores in large groups. They are probably around, but just aren’t so obvious. The sad part is that they get away with just about everything, and our government has surrendered to them…for power and votes.
Graysonret, that is one of the things I miss about Hampton Roads. I went to Manassas the other day to the Home Depot. I got stopped by 5 illegals asking if I had any work for them, of course I said “no”.
I hope that you enjoy living in the area. I think you will though.
What has stopped amazing me is that those who believe in enforcing our laws don’t put this at the top of the “Top Ten” list of reasons for stopping the illegal invasion. It (ID theft) impacts so many people and will only grow. This aspect of the problem would resonate even more strongly with more Americans.
What percentage of the “law abiding undocumented workers” are using stolen Social Security numbers, do you suppose? To get a job, they’d all have had to supply to employers with an SS#/card – so the sleazy ones (employers) can at least plead “Well, they had valid SS numbers”.
For the grand sum of a smile I offer a small solution to the problem of identity theft. Acquire and freely pass out to the illegal alien community the social security numbers of America’s most wanted. Also pedophiles, murderers, others convicted of major crimes and already incarcerated, various gang bangers and other criminal types. I would imagine these ss# and corresponding bios would pique the interest of law enforcement.
These numbers could be innocently scrawled on bathroom walls or accidentally left in here and there where illegals gather. A bit of identity theft sabotage for those who can get ahold of this information. Just a thought.
I’d add a couple things, Helen, if Joe/Jane American has usually been getting a tax refund from the their $14,000 dollar a year income but their SS/ID is stolen & being used by dozens of illegals all claiming six dependents each, guess who’s up a creek come April 15th?
Also, if an illegal is arrested for a crime & IDed as you and is supposed to show up later for a trial/sentencing guess whos’ door law enforcement will be knocking on, arrest warrant in hand.
Actually not a bad idea for a sting op if ICE (and our “fine leaders”) were serious, CR.
It would be akin to the cop who plays the drunk to see which would-be muggers take the bait.
chaos_reigns said:
A bit of identity theft sabotage for those who can get ahold of this information. Just a thought.
——-
You might have a good idea there, but you have obviously picked the wrong group, if you want results. Instead of those committing the small crimes against people, use those committing the heinous crimes against our society:
every member of the House and Senate, their staffs, the current and former members (and staffs) of all executive administrations, the heads and staffs of the RNC and DNC, the leadership of of the Republican and Democrat parties at all local, state and federal levels, and throw in the CEOs, CFOs, and COOs of the most egregious large firms.
Then, you will get results on a scale fitting the criminal disregard the same people have shown for our country!
Good post. In Canada, a lot of people (most?) working at Canada Post today are immigrants. Again and again, we see stories in our newspapers of some Canada Post employee having stolen mail (with bags and bags of mail stacked in the criminal’s apartment).
In keeping with political correctness (which is a terrible disease), they hardly ever give you the names when such people are apprehended, but when they do, it is always (without any exception whatsoever) some unspeakable immigrant name.
I don’t mind immigrants working. But there are certain jobs that are too sensitive to be handed to someone who has been in the country for less than 10 years.
By the way, you want to know why Canada is full of criminals and other types of scum from other countries? Because our immigration department hires recent immigrants (with just a few years in Canada under the belt), whose loyalties lie invariably with the “old country” and not with their host country.
So they approve applications from compatriots even if they have long criminal records.
…………..I wonder if Geraldo “Spittin” Rivera has a Lifelock?……
I’d like to see his face if someone steals his identity…LOL
Rio
Semper Fi!
As a resident of Arizona, I see the destructive forces of illegal immigration on a daily basis. This sistuation (regarding stolen ID documents) is a direct result of the carelessness of employers when hiring people for sensitive )though, perhaps, thankless jobs): the DMV, healthcare facilities, the post office all are faltering due to unskilled, careless, dubious employees.
Illegal immigrants…doing the crimes Americans aren’t willing to do
#50: who would WANT it??
I believe this aspect – ID theft – is the one issue that would strengthen Americans resolve against amnesty more than any other. All Americans have names and numbers (esp. Social Security) that are very easy prey for illegal “immigrants”.
Unfortunately and oddly, it conversely seems to be one of the rarely mentioned – by either side – results of the pro-amnesty & sanctuary policies.