LifeLock routinely offers free identity theft protection to disaster victims. After Hurricane Katrina devastated Louisiana and Mississippi coastal areas, flooding hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses, the victims’ personal and financial information was left washed and blown around, easily available to anyone bent on identity theft.
LifeLock stepped up to help protect them.
This week Robert W. Davis, a former FEMA employee received a five year sentence to be served in a federal prison for identity theft of more than 200 people, some of them natural disaster victims applying for assistance from the federal agency.
Investigators searched Davis’ home and found mortgage applications and scraps of paper with identification information strewn about.
U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton told Davis, “What you did, which is really repulsive, is rather than trying to help these people, you hurt them more.”
Davis opened credit accounts worth more than $150,000, and pawned some of his purchases for roughly $24,000. Other purchases included diamond watches, steaks and lobsters. Besides his prison sentence, Davis must make almost $50,000 in restitution payments to the retailers from which he made fraudulent purchases, including the Home Shopping Network and Shop NBC.
It doesn’t take a natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina’s scope to leave someone vulnerable to identity theft. Identity thieves will take advantage of every opportunity to steal your identity and ruin your finances, your credit and your good name.
Visit LifeLock.com today and see how LifeLock can help protect you and your family. Sign up for their comprehensive and innovative service using the Life Lock promotion code Defense to receive a deep discount.
2 Comments
I just saw the Katrina documentary “Trouble the Waters.” It was crushing and uplifting. Every time I hear about another FEMA Katrina screw up I could scream. I’m usually pretty mellow, but FEMA nearly inspires me to violence! I’m impressed that LifeLock helped after the storm.
Lots of us share the same feelings about the Katrina aftermath. I haven’t seen that documentary yet, but heard an interview with the producers on NPR.
LifeLock did the same thing for people involved in Hurricane Rita. They also provided free service to the 26+ million vets affected by the Dept. of Veterans Affairs data breach, and the residents of Arkansas, Illinois, Tennessee, Missouri and Ohio when dozens of tornadoes tore through those states and carried off millions of people’s personal and financial documents. I know they also do a lot with dozens of nonprofit groups all over the company.