Boca resident hit by identity theft

BOCA RATON, FL-- It all started when Jake Gutting checked his mail last week.

“I received a shipment of the Liposene pills, but hadn’t ordered them.”

The box of weight loss pills was the first sign that something was wrong. After making a few calls, Jake realized his credit card had been stolen right out of his own mailbox.

“You feel a little violated."

He figured out the weight loss pills weren't the only things the thief had purchased.

“Its about $1200 in 3 days.”

The next mystery…how was the card activated?

The thief actually activated their credit card using their home phone number.  How did they do it?  It’s called spoofing.

Spoofing is when someone changes the caller ID to show a different number than the one you're calling from.  Spoofing services are available online and most websites allow you to make one free call.  The thief was also able to answer the credit card company's challenge questions.

“It appears probably would have to be more than one day of looking into my mailbox to get that type of information or potentially have gotten it from another source, maybe through the internet.”

Jake works in risk management and fraud protection, so he's always careful when using his credit cards on the internet and smart on where he uses his cards out in public.

“This one kinda slipped through the cracks because it was a card we rarely used and unfortunately it was expiring so they mailed us another card, something we didn’t initiate and didn’t know it was coming."

There is some good news for Jake.  One of the purchases made by the thief was a plane ticket.  He apparently gave his real name to the airline, so the authorities now know who this person is.
Meanwhile, Jake's money will be refunded. 

As for ways to cut down on the risk: Get a locked mailbox from the post office in order to secure your sensitive documents.