14 DAY TRIAL // A receptionist at a dentist’s office in Manhattan allegedly stole personal information from patients and used it to purchase gift cards from Apple, whose total value was estimated at almost $700,000 / €611,000.
More than 250 patients had their personally identifiable information stolen by 27-year-old Annie Vuong, who is believed to have used the data to obtain a credit line at Apple’s instant credit program run in partnership with Barclaycard services.
Apple store employees were in on the scheme
Vuong would pass the stolen information (names, dates of birth, addresses, and social security numbers) to another individual, who used it to apply online for the instant credit. When the credit was approved, a barcode would be generated, which acted as a credit card at Apple stores.
Multiple Apple store employees at locations in Manhattan, White Plains, and New Jersey were recruited in the scheme in order to use the barcodes without raising suspicions.
The investigation was carried out by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Cybercrime and Identity Theft Bureau over the course of two and a half years, as the fraudsters acted between May and November 2012.
Grand larceny, identity theft and scheme to defraud charges
“Using stolen information to purchase Apple products is one of the most common schemes employed by cybercrime and identity theft rings today,” says in an official statement Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance.
Converting electronic goods into cash is far from being a difficult thing, especially when the products are sold at lower prices. There are plenty of online marketplaces where buyers can be found.
Sensitive information such as the one mentioned above can be used in various fraudulent schemes, some of the most often involving setting up credit in the name of the victim.
All it takes to set up a criminal ring is an insider with access to the personal data, which can also be sold on underground forums.
Apart from Vuong, the identity theft ring was composed of Devin Bazine (30), Sharniqkwa Dukes (24), Ahmeen Evans (26) and Joshua Haughton (28). They have all been charged with 394 counts of grand larceny (second, third and fourth degrees), identity theft (first and second degrees), scheme to defraud (first degree) and unlawful possession of personal identifying information (second degree).