Local Chinese-American community feels targeted in identity theft scam

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- According to our 6abc Data Journalism Team, the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware tri-state area ranks eighth in the country for identity theft reports.

Some of the most recent Philadelphia victims are members of the Chinese-American community who feel they're being targeted.

"Last month, one of my volunteers came to me and said 'Oh Pearl, there's a lot of people getting identity theft,'" said Mingchu Pearl Huynh, who is president and founder of the Northeast Philadelphia Chinese Association.

She founded the organization with a mission for community service, but now she finds herself also working to combat crime.

Huynh has counted 17 identity theft victims who have come to her in recent months, and all of them are Chinese-American. Many live in Northeast Philadelphia, which has a high population of immigrants from various countries.

"Most of them have their driver's license address changed," she said of the pattern that victims have experienced.

The thieves then use the new licenses to do things like shut off existing cell phones, open new accounts for cell phones and credit cards, and wipe out bank accounts.

"(One person's) equity loan line of credit was stolen. (It was) like $200,000," she said. "In another case, (thieves stole) $50,000 from a business savings account."

Jackie Lei owns an insurance agency. Recently, a customer called her with some alarming news.

"One of my customers called me and said she got her license address changed," she said.

Two days later, a relative experienced the same thing. Then, Lei checked her own records and found out that someone had changed the address on her driver's license as well. She promptly put a freeze on her credit. It was just in time.

"I got a letter saying someone tried to open a credit card on April 9th," she said.

Huynh has reported the crimes to police. So have victims who have filed various reports.

"The victims don't feel the empathy and the urgency about this case and that people take it seriously," she said.

Hunyh also reached out to city council members and other elected officials detailing the crime and its impact on the Chinese-American community.

"Nobody got back to me," she said of the lack of a response.

Hunyh is now organizing focus groups to talk about the issue as she shares information with community members on how to report the crimes and hopefully prevent more people from becoming victims.

She thinks there should be more restrictions when it comes to changing a driver's license address.

"It's too easy," she said. "We want our elected officials to put pressure on PennDOT to change the system."

It's their way of trying to protect a community that they think is being targeted.

"We're still living in fear," said Lei, "because you don't know what they're going to do."