Group Allegedly Snatches Wallets, Purses, Buys Thousands
BOSTON -- Boston police said they believe they have arrested the leader of an identity theft ring operating in Boston.
NewsCenter 5's Steve Lacy reported that police said Charles Belin is known on the streets as "The Professor"
Belin is 55 years old and police said he is an identity theft expert heading up a sophisticated scam targeting women who live in the city of Boston. Their purses were stolen and the personal information inside was used to run up tens of thousands of dollars in fraudulent expenses.
Police believe at least seven people may be working together on this ring. Police have also released a picture of a woman said to be a key part of the ring. Her name is Carol Silva, 54, of Hyde Park.
Carol Silva allegedly has stolen money and identities from a number of people. In some cases, she and her alleged accomplices steal pocketbooks. In other instances, she allegedly pretends to faint, police said.
"She'll fall to the floor, and when people bend over to help them, they reach in and grab their wallet out of their pocketbook. They never know what happened to them," Boston Police Department Lt. Steven Blair said.
Police said that Silva would use the stolen identifications to withdraw money from a victim's bank account.
"They would also take checks from the victim's pocketbooks, deposit them into another victim's back account, inflate the bank account and then withdraw the funds. Each time they hit the victim's account from $20,000 to $30,000," Blair said.
Police were refusing to say just how many people have fallen victim to the scam in the Boston area but they were telling people to keep a close eye on their pocketbooks and wallets when in the city.
"They are actually going out and recruiting people. They will hold onto the victim's driver's license and go around to neighborhoods looking for people who fit the description of the victim to use them to go into the banks," Blair said.
Officials said it's a good idea to limit the amount of personal information people carry in their wallets or purses.
"Many people don’t think about what they carry on their person, such as in their purses or in their wallets that may be extra identifying information that they don’t really need to have on them," U.S. Postal Inspection Services official Cheryl Swyers said.
Copyright 2006 by TheBostonChannel.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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