Federal authorities this anniversary appear a alternation of arrests and aesthetics in affiliation with a all-around character annexation ring that blanket millions of dollars by hijacking home-equity curve of acclaim issued to bags of consumers.
On Monday, accompaniment and federal law administration admiral arrested four men who were allotment of a accumulation that allegedly accumulated high-tech accessories with ancient con-artistry to cesspool home-equity lines.
According to charging abstracts apparent this anniversary in New Jersey's U.S. District Court, the men and four others arrested beforehand this year tricked assorted banks and acclaim unions into base added than $2.5 actor from home-equity curve to accounts controlled by associates of a artifice ring in Canada, China, Japan, Vietnam and South Korea, a part of added countries.
Last Thursday, three people authorities say were connected to the New Jersey gang pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and related charges. Officials say they stole at least $10 million through home-equity scams.
The cases highlight what the FBI calls an "emerging scheme" afflicting the struggling real estate and mortgage market. In such crimes, thieves target people with good credit and large, untapped home-equity lines of credit, digging through public records -- such as property deeds and mortgages -- as well as publicly available Internet databases to obtain credit applications, credit reports and victim signatures.
"Home-equity lines of credit are an expanding front in the battle against mortgage fraud," said New Jersey U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie. "Homeowners should carefully review their statements to make sure their hard-earned equity is not disappearing from under their noses."
According to the criminal complaint, the defendants and alleged co-conspirators used fee-based Web databases to find documents that included names, birthdates and Social Security numbers of people with large balances in home-equity credit accounts.
The government alleges that the group also used other online database to locate answers to common security questions, such as the victim's mother's maiden name, and used the combined information to order credit reports in the victim's name to verify account balances.
Authorities say the defendants then would phone the victim's bank or credit union and ask it to wire a substantial portion of the line of credit to banks in Asia and Canada.
In the Virginia cases, the defendants acknowledged using caller-ID spoofing services, prepaid cellphones and PC wireless cards to hide their location and identity online. In many cases, the government alleges, the defendants transferred victims' home telephone numbers to alternate lines they controlled to stay one step ahead when the banks called to verify transfer requests.
Law enforcement officials say the New Jersey group operated in much the same way. Hakeem Olokodana, 41, one alleged ring member awaiting trial in New Jersey, is accused of asking a victim's bank to wire $675,000 to an account in Tokyo. Olokodana allegedly called Verizon posing as the victim, complaining of problems with his home phone line. He then persuaded Verizon to forward all incoming calls to a separate telephone number that he controlled, according to officials.
Verizon spokesman Eric Rabe said the company's customer support technicians employ a number of methods for verifying such requests, from asking about information on the customer's last phone bill, to the amount of the last payment.
Articles By Brian Krebs: Dan Siegel
On Monday, accompaniment and federal law administration admiral arrested four men who were allotment of a accumulation that allegedly accumulated high-tech accessories with ancient con-artistry to cesspool home-equity lines.
According to charging abstracts apparent this anniversary in New Jersey's U.S. District Court, the men and four others arrested beforehand this year tricked assorted banks and acclaim unions into base added than $2.5 actor from home-equity curve to accounts controlled by associates of a artifice ring in Canada, China, Japan, Vietnam and South Korea, a part of added countries.
Last Thursday, three people authorities say were connected to the New Jersey gang pleaded guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and related charges. Officials say they stole at least $10 million through home-equity scams.
The cases highlight what the FBI calls an "emerging scheme" afflicting the struggling real estate and mortgage market. In such crimes, thieves target people with good credit and large, untapped home-equity lines of credit, digging through public records -- such as property deeds and mortgages -- as well as publicly available Internet databases to obtain credit applications, credit reports and victim signatures.
"Home-equity lines of credit are an expanding front in the battle against mortgage fraud," said New Jersey U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie. "Homeowners should carefully review their statements to make sure their hard-earned equity is not disappearing from under their noses."
According to the criminal complaint, the defendants and alleged co-conspirators used fee-based Web databases to find documents that included names, birthdates and Social Security numbers of people with large balances in home-equity credit accounts.
The government alleges that the group also used other online database to locate answers to common security questions, such as the victim's mother's maiden name, and used the combined information to order credit reports in the victim's name to verify account balances.
Authorities say the defendants then would phone the victim's bank or credit union and ask it to wire a substantial portion of the line of credit to banks in Asia and Canada.
In the Virginia cases, the defendants acknowledged using caller-ID spoofing services, prepaid cellphones and PC wireless cards to hide their location and identity online. In many cases, the government alleges, the defendants transferred victims' home telephone numbers to alternate lines they controlled to stay one step ahead when the banks called to verify transfer requests.
Law enforcement officials say the New Jersey group operated in much the same way. Hakeem Olokodana, 41, one alleged ring member awaiting trial in New Jersey, is accused of asking a victim's bank to wire $675,000 to an account in Tokyo. Olokodana allegedly called Verizon posing as the victim, complaining of problems with his home phone line. He then persuaded Verizon to forward all incoming calls to a separate telephone number that he controlled, according to officials.
Verizon spokesman Eric Rabe said the company's customer support technicians employ a number of methods for verifying such requests, from asking about information on the customer's last phone bill, to the amount of the last payment.
Articles By Brian Krebs: Dan Siegel
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