Fed Chairman Bernanke A Victim Of Id Theft

Even high-profile people can have their identities stolen. You don't need to have a NSA-level technology to do it. Consider how Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke recently got his identity stolen.

It was a decidedly low-tech affair. Over a year ago, Anna Bernanke, the Chairman's wife, had her purse stolen at a Capitol Hill Starbucks. Inside it were credit cards, her checkbook, the usual stuff. A week later a $900 check on the account was deposited at a Bank of America in nearby Hyattsville, MD. The Bernankes were made whole by Wachovia, their bank, and no other use of their resources was found.

A federal warrant is out for the person who deposited the check, and he is still at large, but others involved with what court records show as the same ID theft ring have pleaded guilty.