Inmate Ran Id Theft Ring From Jail

October 22, 2008 – 3:54 pm

A inmate in the Multnomah County jail was running a Identity theft ring from inside jail. The inmate was using the phone systems to call his associates who would then make a three way conference call to someone else. Shawn McGinnis, the inmate, would then act as a kind of broker for the exchange of the information. The phone calls were to different people that would be interested in trading and exchanging personal data.

Shawn McGinnis did this from December 2006 to October 2007. The phone calls were all recorded but the prison lacked the staff to actually monitor the phone calls. The only reason that the cops found out about the identity theft ring was from an anonymous tip.

After the discovery of the McGinnis’s identity theft ring it spurred an investigation that resulted in 87 different crimes from different counties. The crimes took place in three different counties, Multnomah, Clackamas and Hood River. McGinnis is currently serving a 104 month sentence for possession of a fire arm in Multnomah County.

Stories like these proves that identity theft can happen from anywhere. There is always a threat and even someone in jail was able to take part in the exchange and trading of personal information of unsuspecting people. LifeLock is the number one protector of people’s identities. If you would like a LifeLock membership to help protect your identity then use LifeLock promotion code Defense and save some money.

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