Judy Melody lived a remarkable, yet quiet life. She spent 14 years as a nun, then left the order to become a teacher. There she spent 28 years, before retiring. And in the last few years, she's dabbled in real estate.
That last bit was news to her.
It seems some identity thieves got their hands on her information and started doing real estate deals in her name. They "flipped" quite a few properties for a tidy profit, even recruiting a woman to impersonate her for signings and the like.
Their clever scheme unraveled when a mortgage company called to ask her about her house in Brockton, Massachusetts. She insisted that they must have the wrong person, but when they read off all her private info -- including her Social Security number -- she suddenly realized she had been taken.
The police set up a phony "closing" and nabbed the bandits when they pulled the "one con too many" and went after Melody's actual home, where she lived.
There's an old saying: pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. I suspect that they got an inkling that their scam might be coming apart, they tried to pull one last "big job" before running. If they'd just run first, they might have stayed free to try it again.
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Comments (4)
It seems that crime, and th... (Below threshold)1. Posted by John F Not Kerry | January 27, 2007 10:34 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
It seems that crime, and the lure of easy money, becomes an addiction that is just too hard to kick. Just like finding that thing in the last place you look, criminals almost always go to the well one too many times. As a licensed Realtor in MN, I am glad to see such scum caught. Buy a home?
1. Posted by John F Not Kerry | January 27, 2007 10:34 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on January 27, 2007 10:34
2. Posted by John F Not Kerry | January 27, 2007 10:35 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Apparently my shameless plug link in the last comment didn't work. Darn!
2. Posted by John F Not Kerry | January 27, 2007 10:35 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on January 27, 2007 10:35
3. Posted by John Irving | January 27, 2007 11:02 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
The link didn't work right, but the actual url is visible. . . shame on you for link whoring (heh), but given you are a known quantity here, if I ever move that way I'll give you a try.
As for what the hosts may think, well. . .
Criminals are generally both greedy and lazy. . . they want to keep a good thing going as long as they can, and eventually most run into the Gambler's Ruin. I don't know how statistics would bear it out, but in a few years of security and law enforcement experience, combined with the observations of those of my friends, it seems that less crimes are committed during inclement weather. Heavy thunderstorms, snowstorms, and the like may deter someone from wanting to drive to work, but they definitely seemed to deter the criminals. I'm not counting aftermath events, like looting after hurricanes (which are more extreme than the conditions I'm considering anyway), but during the actual storm.
The plural of anecdote is not data, as has been observed many times before, so I may be wrong. . . anyone know any good hard facts on the matter?
3. Posted by John Irving | January 27, 2007 11:02 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on January 27, 2007 11:02
4. Posted by Darleen | January 27, 2007 12:28 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Unfortunately, working in a DA office has demonstrated that most of us law abiding citizens have no clue on the amount or type of crime that surrounds us every day.
And Identity Theft is ominous because most victims can go years before realizing what has happened.
Just a week ago I went to see a new doctor, and they handed out new-patient forms for me to fill out and right at the top they asked for my Social Security number.
They, by law, cannot ask for it and NO ONE should give it to them!
For years I would have to fill out those "emergency information" cards for my daughters' schools...they would always ask for their SSN and I would never give it.
If there is one piece of advice among many I could give, it is to never ever give out your SocSec # to ANYONE except government agencies who are required to get it for tax purposes.
4. Posted by Darleen | January 27, 2007 12:28 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on January 27, 2007 12:28