Identity thieves have found an insidious target: death row inmates. A SentiLink report published this week reveals scammers are stealing identities of Texas prisoners awaiting execution to orchestrate "bust-out" fraud schemes -- patiently building credit before disappearing with up to $100,000. Nearly 10% of Texas' 172 death row inmates have fallen victim. The operation, active since March 2023, exploits inmates' isolation from financial communications. "They wouldn't receive text or email alerts from a financial institution," said Robin Maher of the Death Penalty Information Center. Beyond opening credit accounts, NBC reports, fraudsters have registered fake businesses using inmates' identities, including a landscaping company created under Ronald Haskell's name -- a man imprisoned since 2014 for killing six people. TransUnion estimates bust-out scams now cost banks $1 billion annually. Read more of this story at Slashdot. Source: https://yro.slashdot.org/story/25/05/14/001249/a-ripe-target-for-identity-thieves-prisoners-on-death-row?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed #ripe #target #for #identity #thieves #prisoners #death #row