Just a few weeks ago authorities were warning against the staggering and on the raise number of stolen identity cases. Now a celebrity of the IT business allegedly went through something quite similar. It happened to Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, who unfortunately was involved in a stolen identity case.
Although it is most obvious that anyone can go through a stolen identity situation, the fact that it happened to one of the co-founders of Microsoft emphasizes how serious the matter is. You’d imagine that Paul Allen would have a better protection of his personal data, but as what happened proves there’s no insurance against identity theft.
A complaint filed by the FBI earlier this week pointed out to the fact that an AWOL soldier managed to steal the identity of billionaire Paul Allen. Brandon Lee Price, age 28, entered the authorities’ radar when he attempted to modify an address on one of Allen’s bank accounts. He even managed to have a new debit card sent to his home.
According to an FBI investigator, Brandon Lee Price called Citibank earlier this year and changed Allen’s address on a bank account from Seattle to Pittsburgh. He returned three days later with another call to the bank requesting a new debit card.
The bank eventually tracked down the fraud, but only after it had already sent the card to the new address when Price initiated a $15,000 transaction and a $658.81 payment to the Armed Forces Bank loan account.
Without a doubt the incident came as a shock for Paul Allen. His spokesman, David Postman said: “Clearly, it’s a reminder that anyone can be a victim of this. It certainly is a surprise and reason for everyone to make sure that all that stuff is properly cared for and monitored”.
Nikki Junker with the Identity Theft Resource Center said of the case: “As we strive for more convenience, the safety goes down. You would think being one of the richest men in the world would make you more careful about your account”. As Junker points out the more public figure you are the more it is easy to have access to all sort of data that might be security risks.
