LifeLock

Houston Police were responding to an anonymous tip about drug activity when they went to Manuel Souza and Ray Whitmer’s home yesterday. But along with 50 ounces of cocaine, they also found 16 boxes of car sales contracts from the Lawrence Marshall dealership that closed nine months ago.

There were approximately 800 contracts in the boxes, all from car purchases made in 2006.

The corporate office in nearby Hempstead said neither Souza or Whitmer had ever been employees, and they have no idea how they got the contracts. In fact, they weren’t even aware the contracts were missing, though they say they go to extreme measures to protect their customers’ information.

The contracts contain the car buyers’ names, address, drivers’ license numbers and Social Security numbers.

“We’re talking potentially hundreds of victims that could be affected by this thing,” said Victor Senties of the Houston Police Department.

Souza and Whitmer have been arrested and are still in jail today. Both have been charged with fraudulent use of and possession of identifying information. They also face narcotic charges.

Senties recommended that consumers who bought cars from the Lawrence Marshall dealership in 2006 should get copies of their credit reports immediately, and check for any strange activity that may indicate they’ve already become victims of identity theft. He also said they should place fraud alerts on their credit files.

When new members enroll in LifeLock’s comprehensive identity theft protection services, the company’s first steps are to help the customers get credit reports and place fraud alerts on their credit files.

But that’s only the start of their identity protection strategy. Visit LifeLock.com to find out why almost 1.5 million Americans trust LifeLock to help protect their credit, their finances and their names.

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