Wednesday, April 16, 2003
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Wednesday, April 16, 2003 |
PTC couple busted by police for numerous ID fraud chargesBy JOHN
MUNFORD
A Peachtree City couple has been arrested for bilking 10 different victims of over $16,000 to pay their bills electronically and make purchases online, according to police. Leah K. Serapion, 25, is charged with 43 counts of financial identity fraud and her husband, Troy Serapion, 26, is charged with five counts of financial identity fraud and five counts of financial transaction card fraud. Mrs. Serapion got the victims' account numbers from customers at a Fayetteville hair salon where she worked, said Peachtree City Police Chief James Murray. The business, identified as Rico Paragon in police reports, was not at fault in the case, Murray added. "She (Leah Serapion) copied checks and credit card numbers," Murray said. Troy Serapion used some of the account numbers to purchase gun supplies online, Murray said. According to warrants for his arrest, he also used the online currency exchange service PayPal to transfer $6,100 to his PayPal account. Over half of the transactions from Leah Serapion were for amounts less than $100, according to warrants. The largest transaction was for $742 to pay for an auto lease, according to warrants. Murray believes these charges may be "the tip of the iceberg" since other evidence may be lurking on the hard drive of the couple's computer, which was confiscated during a search warrant. The computer will be searched by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for further evidence, the chief added. The case was investigated by Detective Sgt. Russ Geboy, who has done a "real good job" on the investigation, Murray said. Many people have their Social Security numbers and phone numbers printed on their checks, which provides the base information criminals need to exploit bank accounts. People should be vigilant about checking their statements for any discrepancies, he added. "It just shows you're very vulnerable when you use a check," Murray said. Debit cards used instead of checks can be safer than writing a check, but only if the card's personal identification number is kept separate from the card itself, Murray added. When using a credit card for purchases, people should ask to watch the merchant's representative swipe the card and never let the card leave their sight, Murray recommends. Murray also advises merchants to make sure it has a secured area to store customers' checks. "The place can be legitimate but it may have an unscrupulous worker," Murray said. Financial transaction card fraud has become very sophisticated, Murray said. Some criminals have used a card swiper they mount on their belt to secretly swipe customer's credit cards. The swiper unit reads the card's magnetic strip, which contains the victim's financial information which is later downloaded at another location where a new credit card is created with all the victim's financial information, the chief said. The new card, however, has the actual name of the criminal who will use the card so the purchases will appear legitimate, Murray added.
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