Crime & Safety
Identity Stolen From Deceased Person
Someone tried to get the Social Security payments after the person died. An arrest is merely an accusation, not evidence of a conviction.
A bank's loss prevention specialist reported Oct. 23 that a bank customer, who passed away in May 2012, had received automatic Social Security payments of $2,109 in June and July in his account. There was no co-signer or beneficiary on the account.
The bank, in the 7700 block of Waukegan Road, notified the Social Security Administration and made plans to return the funds to that agency.
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On July 23, someone used the deceased’s personal information to change the PIN number on the account. The Loss Prevention Specialist stated someone in the deceased's family might have the personal information needed to change the PIN number.
On July 24, someone made a $500 ATM withdrawal in Vernon Hills , and on July 25 and 26, someone made ATM withdrawals of $500 (each day) in Niles, police said.
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The withdrawals left insufficient money for the bank to repay the Social Security Administration. The bank determined that the PIN number change to the account was made from a former customer's phone, according to the report. The Loss Prevention Specialist spoke with the suspect over the phone and he did not deny taking the funds, police said. The Loss Prevention Specialist did not succeed in getting the funds back from the suspect, but is willing to sign complaints, according to the report. The bank provided police with documentation on the suspect, including two video discs which, according to the report, show the suspect making the unauthorized withdrawals from the ATM on 7//25 and 7/26. Police are investigating.
In a suspicious incident Oct. 23 just before 10:30 a.m., a 20-year-old female employee of a store in the 5600 block of Touhy told police a male in his 20s, about 5' 7", wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and jeans, was hanging around outside the store. This man approached the female employee, who was outside on break, and said, "I got something for him," displayed a small pocket knife, and said he had a gun but did not display one, according to the report. Police said the offender was earlier engaged in a verbal dispute, on Oct. 18, with a male employee of the store who was retrieving carts. The manager said the offender, who may be homeless, may have come back looking for the male employee, according to police.The offender left on foot before police arrived, and police checked the area for him but did not find him.
Information is taken from Niles Police Department reports.
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