Investigators say Ray Davis was a 'smooth talker' who recruited bank employees to help him carry out a scam.
He would pay those employees $50 for a bank customer`s personal information.
“With that information, he was able to produce counterfeit checks, change the address of the account, basically take over the account,” says David Anderchek, a US Postal Inspector.
Davis would then recruit women to go into stores and buy merchandise.
“He would produce counterfeit identification and have them open up lines of credit for making purchases and retailers using counterfeit ID and checks to purchase of TV`s electronics furniture,” says Anderchek.
The goal was simple, max out each credit line.
“They would bust out the line, then abandon it,” says Anderchek.
Several victims lost $84,000 in the scheme.
“It`s very popular and very efficient,” says Anderchek.
All paths in the investigation led right to Ray Davis, but he did not give up easily.
“Our case involved three pursuits with Mr. Davis,” says Anderchek.
They eventually caught Davis, but the damage was done.
Some advice from postal inspectors: Constantly check to make sure your personal information has not been stolen.
“They need to be right on top of their statements every month and credit accounts to identify accounts that are not legitimate,” says Anderchek.
Ray Davis was charged with aggravated ID Theft and sentenced to three years in prison.
