DRUGS TRADED FOR IDS IN NEW CRIME WAVE

Identity And Credit Card Scams Fuelled By Cheap Meth

Cheap, plentiful methamphetamine is fuelling a boom in sophisticated forms
of identity fraud and credit scams in Edmonton, say city cops.

Det. Allan Vonkeman of the Edmonton Police Service commercial crime section
said that he and his associate, narcotics Det. Bob Gauthier, started
noticing in February a strong link between an increase in local meth busts
and the discovery of highly organized fraud operations.

"We started seeing the people we were busting for meth, we found them with
tons of information related to fraud," said Vonkeman. "I'm talking false
IDs of every kind, cheques, counterfeit cheques and cash, stolen mail.

"The sheer volume is amazing. I'd find hundreds of pieces of identification
in a single bust, stolen mail. All of these guys who are into (ID fraud)
seem to be into meth, too. We're getting hit with an avalanche of material."

And these aren't garden-variety fraudsters kiting cheques. Vonkeman and
Gauthier say the meth-fraud "cells" they've uncovered are run like
successful businesses, combining the production of counterfeit government
and payroll cheques, fake currency and drivers' licences with credit card
fraud.

"When these (cells) come together, everyone in it tends to have a different
aptitude," he said. "One guy cooks (manufactures meth), another robs cars,
another lifts mail, someone else raids lockers.

"Where dealers used to trade coke for cash or moveables like TVs and VCRs,
meth dealers are trading drugs for information - credit cards, drivers'
licences. They create a hub - personal information goes in, drugs go out."

Much of the information used by the fraud cells is obtained from rifling
private mailboxes - a good source of credit card numbers - and
"dumpster-diving" to retrieve discarded mail.

Gauthier said the chronic methamphetamine addiction among these fraud
artists seems to encourage them to explore more elaborate forms of
electronic and Internet fraud.

"Speeders always have to be doing something, their hands always have to be
busy," he said. "We go into their homes and we always find electronic
equipment that's been taken apart, cellphones, computers."

"The meth use seems to come first, then the fraud," said Vonkeman. "This
crowd is highly networked.

"One thing meth does is it keeps you awake for a long period of time. Meth
addicts tend to think they're smarter than average people. And when you're
awake for 72 hours at a stretch, you start concocting schemes."

Vonkeman and Gauthier said they have no statistics on how widespread
meth-related fraud operations are in Edmonton. They said they want the EPS
to consider setting up a dedicated police unit with the RCMP, and a special
prosecutor, to work on the problem full-time.

"Enforcement is part of it, but there's a large educational component,"
said Vonkeman. "We're talking to judges, prosecutors, explaining to them
why the real impact of this kind of fraud is much worse than they think.
They've got to see the big picture.

"Federal prosecutors handle drug cases, provincial prosecutors handle
fraud, so it's hard for them to see the connections," said Gauthier.