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A Message from Andrew Thomas Concerning Identity Theft

Identity theft is a fast-growing crime, particularly here in Maricopa County. It’s time for all of us to get serious about fighting ID theft.

One common way that thieves commit identity theft is by using a victim’s hard-earned credit to purchase goods under the name of the victim. Of course, the thief never pays the bill that is run up. The seller of the goods often goes after the victim for payment. Thieves also may steal another person’s identity to avoid being caught for other crimes they’ve committed, or because they want to live and work in the U.S. illegally. Identity thieves often abuse drugs, especially methamphetamine, and steal identities to fund their addiction.

In prosecuting identity theft cases at the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, we’ve also learned that thieves rarely stop at one victim. They frequently stockpile stolen identities and use personal information about the victims for various criminal purposes: to steal money from the victim, to buy goods on the victim’s credit, to sell the information to other criminals, or to trade it for drugs. And many people don’t even know they’ve become victims until they’ve lost thousands of dollars.

Please review the information on this site to protect yourself from identity theft. Don’t be the next victim.

Instead, let’s work together to end ID theft.

Sincerely,

Andrew P. Thomas
Maricopa County Attorney