The Boston Globe, reports on identity theft connection in Boston and California.

As cases of identity theft go, ours had, if not a happy ending, at least a noncatastrophic one. We were lucky, though. And without luck plus quick action, the outcome could have been a lot uglier. Three weeks ago, just back from vacation, my wife and I received a bundle of letters (“Dear Valued Customer’’) informing us that, per our request, all of our bank accounts - checking, savings, home equity line of credit - were being rerouted to an address in Los Angeles. We were advised to notify the bank if there were any problem.
The problem was, we’d never made any such request. In fact, as I discovered in less than a minute’s Web surfing, the address matched up with an LA strip mall. This did not bode well.
The call initiating the transfer had been placed four days earlier to the bank’s customer service office in Pennsylvania. (We’ve requested a copy or transcript, so far unsuccessfully.) The caller had asked how much cash was available through our line of credit and then said he was going through a marital separation and wanted the address change because he was moving.
Three of the accounts are held jointly in my wife’s name. Why alarm bells did not clang loudly at this point is unclear. Essentially, he was asking the bank rep to conspire in ripping off his soon-to-be ex-spouse. The conversation should have ended right there. It did not.


Link:
http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/articles/2009/09/19/identity_theft_hits_home/