OCOEE, Fla.,None — With just two weeks before Christmas, an Orange County Sears department store said it's dealing with a rash of identity thefts.
Recently Ocoee police caught Tina Hudson using the personal information of someone else to open an account.
The store's loss prevention became suspicious after she opened a Sears charge account and immediately tried to buy two large flat screen televisions worth $3,700.
"I can see that happening. I guess it's not that hard anymore to get someone's identity," said Justus Frazier, a Sears customer.
Frazier said he had recently been a victim of ID theft after using his credit card at a bogus website.
Sears loss prevention said this kind of thing is happening everywhere, and most of it is the work of large crime organizations.
The same victim in Hudson's case also had someone buy $5,700 worth of merchandise at the Sears in Lake Wales using her information.
Hudson told police she was desperate for money and someone provided the stolen identification information so she could pull off the crime.
"We use our cards so often. I buy a lot of things online," said Frazier.
Hudson told police she was desperate for money and someone else provided her with the victim's personal information so she could pull off the crime.
WFTV
