Using Dark Web to Steal Older Americans' Identities

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia released a press release that Two Georgia men sentenced for using Dark Web to steal identities of elderly victims. According to the press release, here's how the scam worked. "[T]he charges, and other information presented in court: [two perpetrators] purchased personal identifiable information (PII) from dark net markets and used the information to open credit accounts using the victims’ information. They then forwarded the phone lines, mailing addresses, and the emails of their victims to their control. This allowed [the perpetrators] to impersonate victims with creditors and prevented victims from learning about the fraud."

One defendant "was sentenced to three years, ten months in prison for access device fraud, to be followed by two consecutive years imprisonment for aggravated identity theft.  He was also sentenced to serve three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $108,397.55.  [He] was convicted on these charges on May 14, 2021, after he pleaded guilty."  The other defendant "was sentenced to one year, six months in prison for access device fraud, to be followed by two consecutive years imprisonment for aggravated identity theft.  He was also sentenced to serve three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $66,097.55.  [He]was convicted on these charges on September 9, 2021, after he pleaded guilty."

Thanks to my friend and colleague Professor Bowman for sending me the link to the press release.