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NEW YORK CITY — A New Jersey-based scammer was just sentenced to two to six years in prison for running an identity theft ring that fraudulently obtained more than $400,000 and attempted to steal an additional $992,000 from Manhattanites, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told Patch.
Unfortunately, the type of scam that defendant Miokar Wehye is accused of carrying out — fraudulently opening accounts and obtaining loans with people’s real names and financial information to steal, forge, and cash checks from victims — is becoming more prevalent, Virginia Nguyen, the deputy chief of the district attorney’s Cyber Crime Bureau, told Patch.
“In 2025, unfortunately, most people at least know someone who has been directly affected by identity fraud or a scam in some way or another,” the cybercrime expert told Patch.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, a U.S agency dedicated to tracking and protecting consumers, Americans reported losing more than $10 billion to fraud — a record high — in 2023.
So, here’s what to know about scams and identity theft.
There are two primary categories of scams the Manhattan District Attorney’s Cyber Crime Bureau sees, Nguyen told Patch.
First is identity theft, where victims have their personal information stolen, either through the mail or an online data breach. Then, this information can be used to access existing bank accounts and set up new ones to take out cash and obtain loans.
The sensitive personal information includes full names, dates of birth, banking information, social security numbers, passport information, and more.
“Thankfully, most people aren’t criminals, but it is super easy to get credit card information,” Nguyen said. “You can just go online and buy credit card numbers. It’s not always valid information, and what we’ve seen is that criminals will buy 100 numbers and will get lucky on one or two of those card numbers, but that’s all they need.”
Then, there is another type of scam where bad actors, using insidious emotional manipulation over several days or months, will deceive people into willingly transferring money or sharing identifying information over text, email or phone.
Once this happens, it is much harder for victims to get their money back or take legal action, so prevention is key.
“I think this is becoming a more prevalent problem, and candidly, more preventable, so that’s where we focus our energy on, making sure people are aware of how to detect scams and stop them before the scam is completed,” Nguyen said.
How to protect yourself
To catch identity theft, monitor your credit and bank account statements for unknown transactions.
Identity theft scams are so prevalent now that most financial institutions are equipped to detect and prevent them, but for further protection against identity theft, the District Attorney’s Cyber Crime Bureau recommends putting a proactive block on your credit accounts, so that further authorization would be required to open a new account.
To protect against scams that use social manipulation to get victims to transfer money themselves, the District Attorney’s Cyber Crime Bureau recommends ignoring texts, emails, or calls from strangers and getting a second opinion from a trusted friend or family member before transferring any large sum of money.
The District Attorney’s Cyber Crime Bureau also says not to download files or click on links shared by a stranger, and to verify all incoming phone numbers and email addresses.
“These networks have hundreds of people around the country working just to communicate with potential victims for months, to build relationships, and then get their life savings,” Nguyen said.
“I think that’s the key — it doesn’t appear obvious until it’s too late. Oftentimes when you’re hearing the story, you’re like, ‘Well that is obviously a scam,’ but in the moment, to that individual, it didn’t feel like it,” Nguyen said.
If you are a victim of a financial crime, you can call the District Attorney’s office at (212)-335-8900, or learn more here.
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