Online identity thief scammer busted by Ohio mom...
As Zina Wilson sat in front of her computer in her suburban Ohio home last year, she decided: You have ripped off the wrong family.
Wilson, 51, was fed up with her niece receiving eviction notices for apartments in Las Vegas she had never rented, about receiving notices from collection agencies for Wi-Fi in cities where she had never lived.
She would fight back in the online world, where she soon learned nothing can be trusted as real. Her search led her to gangs and criminals. Fearing for her safety, she agreed to tell her tale under one of the nom de plumes she used in her online research.
Online identity theft scams flourished during the COVID-19 pandemic, ensnaring 1 in 6 Americans and leading to $52 billion in losses last year alone, according to Javelin Strategy & Research.
Despite having no experience in online investigations, Wilson became obsessed with the case. She came to see it as a righteous fight for justice against a criminal scheme that she would learn, clue by clue, sprawled across the country – one she believes involves dozens of victims.
“I will not let this go,” Wilson said. “It’s about my niece, but I hate when people do the wrong thing ... knowingly stealing and ruining peoples’ lives.”
https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/investigations/2022/12/13/ohio-woman-chased-down-identity-thief-now-hunt-back/8323004001/
Long, but absolutely worth the read. Go Auntie!
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