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Sun Prairie Police Department Media Release

From: Assistant Chief of Police Scott Faust

Date: 08/22/2012

Subject: Update - Ongoing Fraud Investigation

The Sun Prairie Police Department has been working with other agencies to collaborate on this case. Since the initial report, we now have over 20 victims in the same geographical cluster. Through our collaboration we have determined that several other cities in Wisconsin have been investigating very similar cases. Many of these cities are located near Milwaukee and Madison.

We are now collaborating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Columbus, Ohio, as they have been investigating several similar cases in Ohio. Our investigative reports have been forwarded to the FBI in Columbus and we will continue to follow up on leads and other information as they become available. We will continue to serve as the local point of contact for victims in The City of Sun Prairie and the investigation is ongoing.

Original Release Dated 8/8/12

The Sun Prairie Police Department has received similar reports of Identity Theft and Fraud in late July and early August of 2012. To date we have received reports of 11 incidents on two adjacent streets in Sun Prairie. Those streets include Gas Light Drive and Willow Brook Trail on the east side of The City of Sun Prairie.
In most cases, the identity of victims was used to open fraudulent accounts at large retail locations such as Macy’s, Sam’s Club, Best Buy, Victoria’s Secret and others. The purchases have been made primarily in the states of Texas, Arizona, and Georgia. The total loss to retailers exceeds $100,000.

Our Department has been working with the Madison Police Department on similar cases in their jurisdiction which were also confined to a small geographical area. We are also attempting to collaborate with Federal agencies due to the large geographical area involved.

The Sun Prairie Police Department encourages all residents to take advantage of their free annual credit report from Experian, Equifax, and Transunion. You should be monitoring your credit report for any unauthorized or fraudulent activity. We also encourage you to keep your Social Security number private, safeguard your mail, and shred discarded documents with sensitive information. Additional tips and videos from the Federal Trade Commission can be found at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/consumers/consumer-publications.html

Victims of identity theft may file reports with the Federal Trade Commission at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/ and the Internet Crime Complaint Center at http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx This case is ongoing and we encourage residents to contact the Sun Prairie Police Department at 608-837-7336 if they feel they may be the victim of Identity Theft and/or Fraud.