Portland Police investigate string of mass identity theft
By Katie Ellen, June 14th, 2022
Have you had your credit card information stolen recently? It seems to be happening more frequently in the Portland Metro Area and Vancouver, Washington. The Portland Police Department has gotten dozens of calls of stolen identity cases, which police speculate may have been done through phishing schemes.
“Don’t click on random links,” the police commissioner stated. “Every time we deal with cases of stolen identity, it is often people clicking on random links or freely giving away their information to shady websites and scammers.”
While the Portland Police Department is advising people to watch their cyber security, one bank manager, Clive Howell of Multnomah Credit Union, reached out to K-Intune to give an alternate theory. According to Clive, he claims security footage outside of his credit union caught a man leaving his store removing an elaborate disguise. He believes the man was using the disguises to steal information and money from his customers.
Clive continued. “It seemed to be the same man both times I captured it. He was not wearing any elaborate make-up. In the footage, it was almost an instant that his disguise was gone, and he walked off into the shade, so I could not get a good look at him.”
“After he had disguised as the person, calls came in from our customers about unauthorized purchases within hours. Purchases of food, furniture, and industrial equipment. It has been a headache.”
Portland Police have tried to investigate Howell’s claims, but there has been a distinct lack of evidence. The security footage shown had a faceless figure. Howell swears he once remembered what he looked like, but could not put a name or face to him.
Investigations will continue. But for now, be careful who you trust with your personal information!
