Top 6 Celebrities who have had their identities stolen

Identity theft is so cunning and pervasive that even celebrities are not immune to it. Below are the top 6 celebrities who have had their identities stolen:

1) Oprah Winfrey & Martha Stewart

Oprah Winfrey and Martha Stewart’s identities were stolen by bus boy Abraham Abdallah in 2000. He has been accused of using the internet along with Forbes Magazine’s list of America’s richest people in order to commit the notorious identity theft. Notations were made by him of the Forbes celebrities’ social security numbers, home addresses and birthdates. Abdallah also possessed 400 stolen credit card numbers, and he did not target Oprah or Martha explicitly. His list also targeted Spielberg, Stewart, George Lucas, Ross Perot and Warren Buffett. Once he had all of their personal information, he contacted their banks and brokerage firms, and expensive items were then purchased. Prostitutes and Couriers all over New York City were used to deliver the items. Abdallah was quickly found out and sentenced to jail.

2) Steven Spielberg

Besides being involved in the same identity theft case as Oprah, Spielberg was also involved in another case, although no money was stolen. A jailed fan of Spielberg, James Jackson, obtained his social security number, credit card statements, and other personal information by calling the Screen Actors Guild and tricking an operator into revealing the guild’s health care insurance provider. Jackson then called the health care insurance company and pretended to be a health provider administrator looking to verify coverage for billing purposes. The operators then revealed Spielberg’s social security number, date of birth, addresses and other information. It was over a year before James Jackson was discovered.

3) Paris Hilton

Paris Hilton discovered that her identity was stolen when she found out that someone had created an unauthorized website in her name. She ended up filing a complaint with the World Trade Organization and also pressed charges against the website creators. Paris’ identity was also stolen a second time, but for monetary gain. A Philadelphia identity theft ring targeted Paris as well as hundreds of other people, and they used celebrity personal information to manufacture counterfeit checks and also apply for fraudulent credit cards.

4) Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro sued a U.S. watch company claiming that they fraudulently used his image from the movie “Righteous Kill” as an advertisement without his consent. De Niro’s contract specifically prohibits the use of his name, voice or likeness in commercials without his written consent.

5) Will Smith

Will Smith’s identity was stolen by Carlos Lomax of Duquesne. The thief posed as the actor, and ran up credit-card debts of up to $33,000. In fact, Lomax opened 14 bogus accounts in the Pittsburg area using Will Smith’s name. This wasn’t his first time committing identity theft either – Carlos Lomax also stole the identity of Atlanta Hawks basketball player Steve Smith, and racked up $81,000 in unauthorized purchases.

6) Martha Reeves

Motown singer Martha Reeves was exposed to the risks of identity theft when one of her old contracts from the ‘70s appeared on Ebay. Her Saturday Night Live contract was being auctioned on the site, and it included her social security number, which was visible in the photographs taken of it. She complained to the Federal Trade Commission, and the link was soon taken down.