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Suspect stole La Cañada residents’ identities to rack up more than $100,000 in fraudulent purchases, officials say

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Detectives with the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station are seeking the public’s help identifying a male suspect who’s used the identities of two La Cañada Flintridge residents to rack up more than $100,000 in fraudulent purchases through a mail delivery scheme.

Det. Rodger Burt said two local victims reported in September that someone had used their personal information to open fraudulent accounts, then used those accounts to purchase several high-end computers and have them delivered through UPS.

“We don’t know how the information for the two people in La Cañada was obtained, but we do know it’s the same suspect,” Burt said, adding the station has obtained video surveillance showing the same man picking up packages using different identities.

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According to detectives, the packages were originally to be delivered to the homes of the La Cañada victims. But before they were shipped, the suspect used a “My Choice” account on ups.com that allowed him to re-route delivery to a different location, in these cases an independently owned and operated UPS Store.

“He will intercept the package by redirecting it,” Burt said. “Now that package has been directed to wherever he wants to send it.”

At the UPS Store, the suspect used false driver’s licenses, issued in states outside California and in the names of the victims but with his own photo, to retrieve the packages. Burt placed the estimated loss beyond $100,000 but said the same man could be using this scheme in other cities using other names.

Burt said identity thieves use numerous methods to obtain the personal information needed to open up a basic account through a credit card company. He recalled a separate incident in which suspects were found in possession of a flash drive containing the personal information of more than 80,000 victims.

Scams affecting local residents have been tracked to other states and even other countries. Burt said the use of cellphones and online accounts makes detective work a lot more difficult than it was before the digital age.

“The problem is law enforcement is not really set up to track down all these suspects,” he said. “Identity theft is everywhere — you have to write search warrants for IP addresses. A lot of it is chasing ghosts.”

Anyone with information about these incidents or the identification of the man depicted in the surveillance video and photos is asked to call Det. Rodger Burt at (818) 248-3464.

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Sara Cardine, sara.cardine@latimes.com

Twitter: @SaraCardine

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