Woman 'Went To Jared' After Stealing Identity
DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. (CBS4) – A woman bought thousands of dollars in jewelry after stealing someone's identity.
The suspect made off with almost $12,000 worth of watches from a Jared The Galleria of Jewelry at the Colorado Mills Mall.
Arnie and Bobbi Neiss were the victims of the identity theft.
When Chase called them about a declined charge the couple then discovered someone used the same credit card to buy the watches.
"Well, we certainly didn't go shopping at Jared's, so who in the world had the unmitigated gall to do that?" asked Bobbi.
The suspect used a "cloned credit card," the credit card number stolen then reprinted on another card with the name "Lonnie Richards."
Surveillance pictures caught the thief in the act. The salespeople at Jared's say the woman was alone, told them she was shopping for her husband's birthday, and bought two "Tag Huer" watches.
Deputies say there are a lot of ways for a thief to steal an identity.
"It could be through phishing scams on the Internet where you give personal information, or you use some type credit card machine or when you're getting gas and they put skimmers on those machines," said Ron Hanavan with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.
It can also happen through a data breach.
The couple says Chase recently gave them a new credit card number after the original was part of the recent credit breach with Target stores.
""It just seems like a bad way to make a living," said Arnie.
"How dare you. I made this money, you didn't," said Bobbi.
The thief drove off in a darker colored sedan and there is a $2,000 reward for information regarding the case.
