Celeb ID Theft Cases

You may know of identity theft victims among your family, friends and neighbors, but celebrities? Surely their fame and status would make them immune to such crimes. Though they may seem like unlikely targets, the fact that their lives are so open to the public and their back accounts are impressive makes them just as big of a target as anyone else.

Some of the biggest names in Hollywood and the media have fallen prey to identity thieves, and the names of some of these victims as well as the creative ways in which they were victimized may surprise you.

What's in a Name?
Will Smith, the former "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" and star of hit movies like "Independence Day" and "Men In Black," was a victim of identity theft back in 2005. Carlos Lomax was the thief that opened 14 bogus credit accounts, running up tabs of up to $33,000 in the name of Willard C. Smith, the actor's legal name. Lomax obtained the actor's vital information from various websites and simply opened credit card accounts in the actor's name.

Turns out Lomax wanted to get his money's worth out of the name "Smith." The star of "Hancock" wasn't the only one duped by this con man. Lomax also stole the identity of former Atlanta Hawks basketball player Steve Smith, charging upwards of $81,000 on credit cards. Lomax was eventually arrested and charged with all of his crimes, but some of the debt he acquired took years to recover.

Impersonations
Identity thieves are audacious and oftentimes won't stop at any length to get what they want. Famous pro golfer Tiger Woods was impersonated by a man who looked nothing like him and had nothing in common with him.

It began with forgery that Anthony Lemar Taylor did at a DMV. Once he got a real driver's license with Tiger Wood's legal name--Eldrick Woods--on it, Taylor used it to obtain a Social Security card bearing the same name. He then used this documentation to obtain credit at numerous retail stores where he went on shopping marathons totaling more than $50,000. He was able to get away with his purchases because initially no one made the connection that Tiger Woods' legal name is "Eldrick."

Another such incident involving impersonations happened to none other than Robert DeNiro's wife. One day her housekeeper took her credit card, and posing as the Mrs. herself, went on a luxury boutique spending spree. Because she wasn't as recognizable as Robert DeNiro, the housekeeper was able to get away with the purchases.

Stealing identities of celebrities using impersonations doesn't just happen in the U.S. In England, pop star Lily Allen's persona was used by a stripper who stole her taxi account details and impersonated the star so she could be chauffeured all over London, running up a bill of over $7,500.

Funnyman Ricky Gervais, star of the UK hit series "The Office" and "Extras" was a victim of identity theft when two grifters cut out a photo of him from a DVD box and imposed it on a passport. They then used the bogus passport to make purchases but were later caught when suspiciously trying to buys bars of gold.

The Inside Job
Oftentimes in ID theft cases, it turns out that the victims were defrauded by someone they're associated with or even know quite well. Take Major League Baseball giant Barry Bonds for instance, whose identity was ironically stolen by an employee of a major document shredding company.

Former American Idol winner Ruben Studdard was another such victim, whose ex-manager used his name to deposit stolen checks and shop for merchandise. Before getting caught, the ex-manager was able to swindle Studdard out of more than $150,000.

The Stealth and the Greedy
One of the downfalls of identity thieves is their greed. It's like the old saying goes, "quit while you're ahead." But for some, successful fraud schemes only fuel the fire to do more damage.

One of the most notorious cases involved a string of wealthy, high profile individuals like Martha Stewart, Ross Perot and Oprah Winfrey. Abraham Abdullah was the employee of an upscale restaurant where his victims dined. His fraud schemes were based on siphoning information from guests' credit cards that he scanned when they paid. His operation was successful for months, stealing millions. He was caught when he got greedy and attempted to take $10 million from the account of Thomas Siebel, founder of Siebel Systems.

When it comes to id theft, no one is exempt. Even the mayor of New York and founder of a financial services company, Michael Bloomberg, was targeted. Thieves successfully stole and cashed checks in the amount of tens of thousand dollars, but were later caught as they tried to cash a check for $400,000.

There's no real pattern for who identity thieves target. As long as they're given an opportunity to steal, they'll take it from whoever they can. You can never be too careful with your personal information or too cautious of who may have access to it. Because thieves don't discriminate, it's important to use common sense and regularly educate yourself on ways to prevent identity theft, no matter who you are.