Former NSA Director a Victim of Identity Thievery

With all of our personal and financial information digitized, everyone is vulnerable to identity theft. Even a former director of the NSA.

Gen. Keith B. Alexander once led the National Security Agency — the nation’s secret codebreakers and cryptographers, masters of clandestine cyber-warfare and other high-level spook stuff. But last year, he fell victim to simple identity theft, which affected his tax returns and bank records. The FBI investigation led agents straight to a Chicago man.

Carnell King, 35, of Chicago, the son of a police officer, is accused of filing false tax returns — claiming a $9,000 refund — opening credit cards in Alexander’s name, and using an Oak Park ATM to withdraw cash in his name, too. The FBI raided King’s apartment in the Austin community last year after tracking him through his electronic trail.

King was in federal court Tuesday to plead guilty, but the judge postponed the proceedings.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports:

The feds arrested King in June 2014 after searching his home in the 5300 block of West Jackson. They said they found checks and checking account paperwork in Alexander’s name, a bank letter addressed to Alexander at King’s home, and handwritten notes filled with personal identifiers for people including Alexander. They also said they found 56 credit cards in the name of “various individuals.”

The complaint against King alleges that starting Feb. 14, 2014, Alexander began receiving mail, emails and phone calls that someone had made several attempts to open credit cards using his personal information. ...

In a transcript found in one document, King allegedly told a bank representative while claiming to be Alexander that he was “in the Army” and gets “stationed everywhere.” The bank representative said, “I’d like to thank you for your service, sir,” to which King allegedly replied, “Thanks.”

more via the Sun-Times