State police in Westmoreland County say they've arrested three people believed to be connected to a major identity theft ring.
The three suspects are identified as Vasile Catola, Maria Branchi and Minodora Serban, who all are Romanian nationals living in Baltimore.
According to investigators, the three used a stolen Sam's Club credit card to purchase pre-paid Visa credit cards at a Walmart in Hempfield Township and one in North Huntingdon. The trio was arrested after they tried and failed to buy the cards at the North Huntingdon store.
If you look at identity theft, the numbers are sobering, according to the Federal Trade Commission's most recent figures from 2020. They show 33% of citizens in the U.S. have experienced identity theft, and the FTC handled 2.2 million fraud reports.
Every year, 15 million Americans become victims of identity theft, which costs people in the U.S. $56 billion. Pennsylvania State Trooper Steve Limani notes the ever chaning threat of scammers,
"Do the best you can when it comes to guarding your identity, pay attention to credit card readers. Make sure that when you're swiping your card nothing looks suspicious at the machine your using. Just do the best you can to safeguard your information. There's always something new it seems like in the world of scams and we just try to do the best we can to educate the population."
According to investigators, the three told troopers they were acting as part of a wider international identity theft ring. Denied bond, all three are in the Westmoreland County Jail on numerous felony theft counts.
Investigators say they're also looking for a potential fourth suspect.
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