Police Say Identity Theft Was a Family Affair

Here’s a new twist on family affairs.

A mother and her two daughters, all of Moorpark, were arrested last week after another woman told authorities someone had been using her name and Social Security number to obtain credit and charge items.

The incident is the latest in a series of identity theft cases reported to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department. Since January, more than a dozen similar financial scams have been uncovered in several cities.

Authorities say those looking to use another’s identity often go dumpster-diving or root through mailboxes to find a person’s address, date of birth and Social Security number. With that information, crooks can get credit cards, loans and more.

What’s scary is that most people don’t realize they’ve been victimized until the unpaid charges appear on their credit report.

Details in this case were still being investigated, but Det. Mike Izquierdo said it appears that Noemi Gutierrez, 24, posed as the alleged victim to open bank accounts.

In addition, the detective said Gutierrez’s sister, Beatriz, 27, and mother, Gloria, 47, were involved and also in possession of identification cards bearing the names of other people.

Noemi and Beatriz Gutierrez remained in jail Sunday in lieu of $15,000 and $10,000 bonds, respectively. Their mother was cited and released.

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Where there’s smoke, there isn’t always fire.

Thanks to $100,000 and modern technology, Ventura County fire officials now own six state-of-the-art thermal imaging cameras that can pinpoint hot spots in fires and aid in the search for victims in heavy smoke.

“These things are amazing,” said Sandi Wells, the department’s chief information officer. “I mean they let us see into walls and better assess where a fire is.”

The camera, which uses infrared technology, allows the operator to see a picture of varying degrees of heat. That information can tell firefighters where they need to make vents to fight a blaze and where not to.

“It can keep us from having to tear out a lot of walls, which means less damage to a structure, and it’s more efficient for staffing,” Wells said.

And like Superman’s X-ray vision, the camera, a hand-held number weighing 6 pounds, can determine fluid levels in hazardous-materials containers and determine the location of colorless gases.

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Two Moorpark women known as “Frick and Frack” have been honored by local police for volunteer work above and beyond the call of, well, civic duty.

“They earned these names not just because where you will find one you find the other, but because together they make an outstanding team,” said Ventura County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Nelson.

Mary Lou Murphy and Carole Woolsey were recently named Volunteers of the Quarter, for which each received a free Italian dinner, a certificate of recognition, a pen and a plaque mounted on the wall at the sheriff’s station.

Nelson said these women work several hours a week at the front counter on Flory Avenue, where they answer phones, take reports and fingerprints and answer residents’ questions.

The pair have also attended nearly every department special event, and they do all this on top of volunteering regularly at the local senior center.

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Moorpark Mayor Patrick Hunter is taking aim at scam artists.

After a constituent recently told Hizzoner that several elderly folks in the city had been swindled, Hunter asked police to advise residents again of how to avoid becoming crime victims.

“There have been a few cases, and we needed to address this because it’s serious,” said Ventura County Sheriff’s Deputy Julie Smith. “I think the bottom line is the elderly are more likely to be victims of these type of crimes.”

Smith said seniors should be on the alert during door-to-door sales, home-repair pitches and free prize offers. There are also scams involving phony mortgage bills, and delivery tricks in which a thief will ask a person to pay for a c.o.d. package for a neighbor who isn’t home..

Residents should check for appropriate business licenses before hiring anyone to do work and also review documents carefully before signing.

“There are hundreds of con artists out their thinking of new ways to scam money from people,” Smith said. “Not that you need to be paranoid, just be careful.”

To provide more details about crime against seniors, police will hold a seminar Wednesday at the Moorpark Senior Center at 12:45 p.m.

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Holly J. Wolcott can be reached at 653-7581 or at holly.wolcott@latimes.com.