PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Lori Sitler
Phone: (302) 577-8314
Pager: (302) 247-1132

Date: September 26, 2002



ATTORNEY GENERAL BRADY UNVEILS IDENTITY THEFT RESOURCES

Informational Brochure and Identity Theft Victim Kit Now Available


(Wilmington, DE): This morning, at the presentation of a Community Service Award commending the Boscov's Department store for their part in recognizing and reporting an identity theft scheme, Attorney General M. Jane Brady unveiled two new resources developed by her office to combat identity theft. A brochure, "Tips on Avoiding Identity Theft" offers practical suggestions to consumers on how to protect themselves from this crime and steps to take if they suspect that they have been victims of identity theft. The second resource, "Identity Theft Victim Kit", is designed to assist victims of this crime with the process of documenting and reporting the offense to creditors, banks, police and credit bureaus.

Brady commented, "These will assist consumers both in protecting themselves from identity fraud and in reporting and resolving issues if they are a victim." She encouraged consumers to be careful about sharing personal information and to make sure that internet web merchants have secure sites before entering credit card information for purchases. 

Both the brochure and the identity theft kit are available from the Attorney General's office by calling 577-8600 or by downloading them from the Department of Justice's website at attorneygeneral.delaware.gov.

Brady also commended Boscov's employees and other diligent merchants for their part in assisting law enforcement with tracking down identity thieves. On July 15, 2002, Delaware State Police were called to the Concord Mall after the Boscov's Department Store Security Unit became suspicious of a shopper who attempted to open a credit account at the store using stolen identification. Boscov's security alerted Mall security who uncovered thefts from other mall merchants. The offenders used stolen identification to apply for instant credit at mall stores and made several purchases before they were apprehended. Notoya N. Johnson, 24 of New York and Michael O. Lang, 33 of Wilmington were arrested and charged with multiple counts of felony theft, forgery, conspiracy and identity theft. State police recovered the stolen property and returned the merchandise to mall merchants. 

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