Victims were informed by the Texas Department of Public Safety this month that they had sent thousands of driver’s licences to an organized crime group.
An anonymous senior consultant of 32 years, who requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation for her losses, estimated that she had racked up $50,000 through fraud schemes that used her stolen Texas driver’s license information.
In February, DPS Director Steve McCraw informed the Texas House Appropriations Committee that a New York-based Chinese organized criminal group had obtained 3,000 licenses bearing Asian names similar to the consultant to sell to undocumented Chinese immigrants in the hope of impersonating victims. According to NBC News, the number of victims has risen from 3,900 to 4,800. A little more than 2,000 people have reached out to staff members in an effort to resolve the problem.
NBC News was able verify $16,000 of losses using receipts and copies checks. The consultant stated that Chase Bank quickly resolved many of the remaining disputes and they don’t appear in statements. Chase representatives were unable to provide details about the case, but they confirmed that they had been in touch with the consultant and that a claim was being filed for the disputed transactions. All disputed funds were resolved by Chase and insurance.
McCraw disclosed the matter to a state House committee in February. However, McCraw said that his department had discovered the attacks in December. The ordeal started six months ago, according to the consultant. She expressed her desire to share her story in order to increase resources for the Asian community. She feels that those with limited English skills or the technical know-how to deal with the aftermath of identity fraud are not being served well.
She said that the state needed to do more for the community. “Give resources and support to the community that is affected.”
According to the consultant, she had to resolve monetary losses in a matter months. Letters viewed by NBC News also showed that she received notifications from scammers that she tried to open dozens Capital One credit cards.
DPS sent out letters informing people they were among the fraud victims in March. However, the consultant stated that the suspicious activity started in November when her recurring payment stopped working. After calling Chase Bank, she found her account had been closed. She also discovered two fraudulent $2,000 withdrawals that were made before she closed her account.
The victim stated that although the withdrawals were quickly resolved, the nightmare continued. T-Mobile called her relatives in February to inform them that there had been attempts to request an eSIM.
Fraudsters could access the phone data via her digital SIM card.
According to the victim, after several hours of talking with the phone company, she was able regain control of her data. She confirmed that her driver’s licence had been used to obtain her card. However, fraudsters were able briefly activate her eSIM card. They also had access to her mobile Chase app. There, they downloaded several Chase credit cards as well as a debit card to Apple Wallet.
A Chase representative said that fraudsters went on a luxury shopping spree and spent $40,000 NBC News was able to view a receipt from Louis Vuitton and found that the fraudsters had spent over $7,000 on this luxury brand.
T-Mobile representatives confirmed that they had spoken with the victim, but could not give details due to privacy concerns.
She said, “It’s not amateur.” They have a playbook and it’s happening quickly. And they aren’t following the traditional routes.
The victim claimed that she had been confused for months about the attack, and suggested that the TMobile security breach might have something to do with it. She finally understood the issue after reading NBC News’ March 18 article and a letter from Sheri Gipson (chief of DPS’ driver’s license division), which she received.
She said, “I realized that I was one of the 3,000 people affected.”
McCraw stated that DPS had “opted to conduct an extensive investigation” before making the information public. It alerted victims immediately, but McCraw claimed that victims’ identities could have still been used before they were notified.
The Department of Information Resources, the website operator of Texas.gov, has denied any comment.
Ericka Miller (DPS’s press secretary) didn’t respond to the inquiry. In a statement, she said that DPS’ press secretary Ericka Miller did not comment on the investigation.
She is still worried about her personal information being compromised. She said that she visited the DPS website to help victims and spoke to seven department representatives, but she was unable to suspend the license. She fears that she will be unprotected up to her appointment with DPS in April. Then she can return home to the U.S.
Despite her technological and language abilities, she still considers herself to be “privileged”. According to the non-profit civic engagement and data group AAPI Data, an estimated third of Texans with Asian descent are not proficient in English. This means that they have difficulty communicating effectively in English. Asian Texans for Justice and other organizations have also demanded that DPS contact victims and offer language assistance.
The victim stated, “This is Texas.” It can be done in Vietnamese. It’s also available in Chinese
Miller did not mention whether the letters would be translated, but she stated in the statement that they will attempt to contact victims again in Chinese, Japanese and Korean.
