A Ripe Target For Identity Thieves: Prisoners on Death Row 25
Identity thieves have found an insidious target: death row inmates. A SentiLink report published this week reveals scammers are stealing identities of Texas prisoners awaiting execution to orchestrate "bust-out" fraud schemes -- patiently building credit before disappearing with up to $100,000.
Nearly 10% of Texas' 172 death row inmates have fallen victim. The operation, active since March 2023, exploits inmates' isolation from financial communications. "They wouldn't receive text or email alerts from a financial institution," said Robin Maher of the Death Penalty Information Center.
Beyond opening credit accounts, NBC reports, fraudsters have registered fake businesses using inmates' identities, including a landscaping company created under Ronald Haskell's name -- a man imprisoned since 2014 for killing six people. TransUnion estimates bust-out scams now cost banks $1 billion annually.
Nearly 10% of Texas' 172 death row inmates have fallen victim. The operation, active since March 2023, exploits inmates' isolation from financial communications. "They wouldn't receive text or email alerts from a financial institution," said Robin Maher of the Death Penalty Information Center.
Beyond opening credit accounts, NBC reports, fraudsters have registered fake businesses using inmates' identities, including a landscaping company created under Ronald Haskell's name -- a man imprisoned since 2014 for killing six people. TransUnion estimates bust-out scams now cost banks $1 billion annually.
The death row inmates are a victim of the state (Score:2)
Death penalty is murder, it is an unusual and cruel punishment and an irreversible violation of the most basic human right.
Given the number of wrong sentences, it is unconscionable.
Still, the victims in the cases of the identity theft discussed in the TFA (which cases, as can be seen from the article are also a government problem - a result of the conditions these people are kept in) do not appear to be the convicted, but some third parties.
At least I would assume that having proof of being in isolation in
Re: The death row inmates are a victim of the stat (Score:5, Interesting)
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You should be drinking less.
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You should get a real argument.
Your point about error rate is a fair one, but by legal definition an execution isn't murder and it has not been considered "cruel and unusual" punishment. The usual arguments that execution is cruel or unusual hinge on trying to make execution entirely pain- and even stress-free for the convict, which is a stupid goal considering that it's a punishment.
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by legal definition an execution isn't murder and it has not been considered "cruel and unusual" punishment
Only by the legal definition of barbaric societies like Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iran, China, Zimbabwe, Botswana, the US, Japan.
considering that it's a punishment.
It isn't a punishment, it is an act of revenge. If it were a punishment, it would need to be an effective deterrent and allow for rehabilitation.
Death sentence is an ineffective deterrent and precludes rehabilitation.
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I feel this is an overly dogmatic way of looking at this, which these days on Slashdot is not at all unusual. If you end up making patently ridiculous statements like this:
Only by the legal definition of barbaric societies like ... the US, Japan.
it's a hint that maybe some more thinking may be needed here.
Death sentence is an ineffective deterrent and precludes rehabilitation.
I don't think it's possible to have any sort of proof whether something is an effective deterrant or not. Maybe if you've introduced this deterrant where it wasn't there before and soon after you saw a dramatic reduction in the thing you're trying to deter (or you didn't), but
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it's a hint that maybe some more thinking may be needed here.
How so?
I don't think it's possible to have any sort of proof whether something is an effective deterrant or not.
Then it is pointless to call something a "punishment", as deterrence is the key concept behind it.
As for rehabilitation, not everyone can be rehabilitated.
Hence the life imprisonment.
But I can definitely understand the other side of the argument.
Yes, it is very primitive and doesn't take a lot to understand it.
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I don't think it's possible to have any sort of proof whether something is an effective deterrant or not.
Recent data says abolition of death penalty does not lead to a change in murder rates.
"The death penalty appears to make no measurable contribution to police safety" https://www.criminallegalnews.... [criminallegalnews.org]
"the Public and Police are Safer in States with No Death Penalty" https://dppolicy.substack.com/... [substack.com]
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If you want to kill someone and go to prison for six years, then you should have killed someone in Denmark.
Why go there? That sounds harsh. The USA has much lower prison punishments for manslaughter (Denmark makes no legal distinction between manslaughter and 1st degree murder, and 5 years jail is typically given to charges which would be considered manslaughter in the USA). That said the Denmark maximum murder sentence of life in jail without parole is lower than the death penalty.
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Oh, shut up already. This article is about identity theft, not to give you yet another chance to moan about the death penalty. Way above your pay grade, mate.
Victim? (Score:2)
I am curious, though. Do death row inmates tend to have excellent credit ratings? What idiot institutions lend money under these circumstances?
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If you use the identity of someone on death row then consider yourself being in the queue.
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Victim seem to infer some harrm, which I doubt any of these inmates feel.
Under your rationale, you could rape someone in coma. Or steal from a very rich person.
In the case of death row inmates:
* they could get out: found innocent (it wouldn't be the first time this happens); or pardoned.
* they could die, in which case their heirs are harmed.
No, I'm not being 100% serious, but... (Score:2)
So the scammers are targeting murderers and banks to enrich themselves. Seems kind-a like a victimless crime, n'est-ce pas!
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Not victimless - the banks will reclaim the costs from the other customers.
If I exceed the speed limit for a while on an empty road and nobody is hurt, then it's a victimless crime aside from the extra fuel and wear on my vehicle.
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But how much can they reclaim before they sacrifice their competitive position with respect to other banks? We don't know from the summary, but I wouldn't be surprised if some banks are hit worse than others.
Besides, it's just too appealing to lump these things together. If we could roll in the US health insurance industry somehow, I'd be truly delighted.
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Insurances spreads out the cost over the banks.
If one specific bank is targeted then it could reclaim money by selling off assets. Those assets are usually loans.
Ultimately the bank could be bought up by a competitor.
In the end the costs ends up on the interest rates on loans and that's one of the reason for the interest gap between loan and savings accounts.
This isn't identity theft (Score:2)
If it were they would be on death row with the inmate.
This is bank fraud. Banks are so eager that they skip the due diligence. We need to get back to calling this what it really is and stop allowing banks to create problems for us. There is no such thing as identity theft.
Due diligence (Score:2)
Banks should do some due diligence and they wouldn't be caught out so often by fraudsters. More background checks, more random audits, and more in-person interviews with proof of identity / address when people ask for loans, lines of credit or whatever. They won't catch every fraudster but they'll catch more and that would serve as a deterrent. And if particular groups of people are falling victim to identity theft, then maybe the banks should go to the same well - pull the names and dates of birth of these