Jan 7, 2009 / 21:15 pm
Identity thieves have used the Bishop of Brooklyn’s Social Security number and birth date to apply for credit cards.
Diocese of Brooklyn spokesman Fr. Kieran Harrington confirmed that Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio’s identity was stolen, the New York Daily News reports.
"His identity was compromised," Fr. Harrington said.
The thieves had applied to MasterCard for new cards in the 64-year-old bishop’s name.
"The bishop has an account with MasterCard, so they called him and asked him, 'Did you order new cards?'" Fr. Harrington explained.
The bishop called police and the New York Police Department’s identity theft unit is now investigating.
In 2007, the Federal Trade Commission received over 800,000 consumer fraud and identity theft complaints. Consumers reported losses from fraud of more than $1.2 billion. Credit card fraud is the most frequent form of identity theft making up 23% of cases reported.