On the hunt for ID thieves

Jeff Ball says he’s in business with a mysterious Australian named “Wendy Kenson.”

And just look at the photos his big-time international business partner has sent, supposedly of herself. 

He says a romance has bloomed and soon he hopes they’ll get married.

Does Jeff Ball realize the merchandise he’s receiving has been bought with stolen credit cards?

Is he in on it, or is he being duped? 

To find out what’s really going on, we decide we need to spend more time with Jeff. So we’re telling him we have more packages — but to get them, he’ll have to stop by our delivery company “office.”

It’s really just a room in a warehouse we rented, about a 30-minute drive from Jeff Ball’s home.

We’ve wired the room with five different hidden cameras.

Remember, Jeff Ball thinks I’m with the shipping company, "CH delivery," and this is just our depot.

Chris Hansen (hidden camera footage): How is that business going- with the African thing?

Jeff Ball: Well, good. 

So good he claims he just got paid thousands of dollars ...

Hansen: And it works.  You’re getting the money?

Jeff Ball: I’m getting the money.

Hansen: Yeah.

Jeff Ball: Last night someone deposited over $18,000 in my PayPal account.

Sounds like a lot to us—not a bad payday for reshipping stolen merchandise that could have been ordered with your credit card.

Next, we ask how come the orders are sent first to his house if they’re ending up going to other countries. He says Wendy Kenson coordinates all of it. Jeff says Wendy’s told him she has customers who live outside the U.S. but need to order American merchandise.  It’s easier to buy if friends or relatives here in the U.S. simply pay for it with their credit cards and let Wendy forward it overseas.

The way Jeff tells it, it’s all on the up and up.

Jeff Ball: We’re just like a middle person to get it to them in another country.

Hansen: So, these folks all have relatives in Australia, or London, or some other place and those relatives want this stuff.

Jeff Ball: Right.

But we know friends and family aren’t buying it. The credit card numbers are really stolen. Remember ID theft victim Leigh Morton in Nevada?

Her stolen card was used to order a Playstation that was sent to Jeff’s house in care of “Wendy Kenson.”

Hansen: Do you know anybody named Wendy Kenson?

Leigh Morton, ID thief victim: No.

Hansen: Did you ever order a Playstation Value Pack for $262.75?

Morton: I don’t even play video games.

Steven Yu’s card was stolen, too—and used to buy more stuff for the mysterious Wendy.

So, back at the our delivery depot, we’re trying to get Jeff Ball to tell us more about just who Wendy is.

Hansen: Wendy is your fiancée?

Jeff Ball: Yeah.

To hear Jeff tell it, Wendy seems too good to be true. He says she’s a prize-winning model.

Jeff Ball: She just went into competition in Australia too.  So, she just got $80,000--

Hansen: Wow.

Jeff Ball: --for winning.

And that’s not all—

Jeff Ball: She’s also a millionaire.

Hansen: Oh, she’s a millionaire.

Jeff Ball: Yeah.

Hansen: Wow. 

And for months, she’s been sending romantic email after romantic email.

So how did Jeff Ball meet her? Take one guess.

Hansen: Did you meet her overseas in Australia?  Or—

Jeff Ball: No, I met her on the Internet.

Hansen: Oh, on the Internet. 

Believe it or not, Jeff Ball is about to give me a warning—and you may think it’s a bit ironic. Because remember, he’s on hidden camera and he doesn’t know who I am, as he tells me about the dangers of meeting women over the Internet.

Jeff Ball: Be careful with the chat room.  Don’t start talking to girls that say 'Oh she’s 20, but she’s actually 12.'

Hansen: Oh, really?

Jeff Ball: Like you watch “Dateline”?  A lot of these guys want to have sex with a 13-year-old and they show up and get caught

Hansen: Yeah… I’ve seen that show.

Jeff Ball apparently knows all about our “Predator” series, but it’s obvious he doesn’t know he’s actually talking to someone who has more than a passing knowledge.

In fact, I learn he’s quite a fan of the Dateline series.  He knows all the “greatest hits.”

Hansen: Did you see that one “Dateline” show where the guy came in naked?

Jeff Ball: Yup.  I can’t believe it.  He took off his clothes, came in naked. I saw the one where the doctor showed up.

Hansen: --just recently, the doctor showed up, yeah.

Jeff Ball: Yeah, I’m like, 'a friggin’ doctor?'

Hansen: Yeah.

Jeff Ball: One got busted twice.  Did you hear that one?

Hansen:  I heard about that.

Jeff Ball: Guy got busted on the first show.  And, you know what?  He got busted again on the second show.

Hansen: Come on? Same guy?

Jeff Ball: Same guy.

I’m thinking it’s about time tell Jeff who we really are and what we’re really up to.

But that’s when he gives us some news about Wendy.

Jeff Ball: She’ll be coming home tomorrow, I hope.

Hansen: Who’s that?  Wendy?

Jeff Ball: Yeah.

This could be our chance to meet Wendy face-to-face and get to the bottom of this.

Hansen: I think we all ought to get together when she’s in town.

Jeff Ball: I’ll talk to her.

We hang around. But, not surprisingly, the mysterious Wendy doesn’t  show up.

So, we invite Jeff back to our “CH Delivery” office.

Hansen: Come on in.  Good to see ‘ya.

He’s cleary disappointed his fiancee didn’t come to see him.  And he begins to open up. First, he admits he never got that 18,000 dollar payment as a partner in Wendy’s business. 

In fact, he hasn’t made a dime....

Jeff Ball: All the stuff I been sending, I haven’t got paid yet.

Hansen: Really?  Well, how much have you had to invest in all this?

Jeff Ball: Everything I had. 

Hansen: Ballpark?

Jeff Ball: About $40,000.

Hansen: $40,000?

Jeff Ball: Savings, checking, everything.

It turns out, Jeff Ball has been duped all along. Overseas identity thieves have been using the picture of a beautiful woman to convince him to launder and ship stolen merchandise.  They’ve even convinced him to pay for the shipping.

Remember he still thinks I’m Chris from CH delivery.  I tell him I think he’s been swept up in a scam.

And one by one, I show him the orders we uncovered and the people who told us their identities had been stolen to pay for all the expensive electronics being delivered to his home.

Hansen: So we’ve got one, two, three, four examples where we know stolen credit card or stolen debit card numbers were used.

Jeff Ball: I understand what you’re saying. So all this might be bought by stolen credit card.

Hansen: Yes.

This isn’t going to be a good day for Jeff Ball. Now that Jeff is beginning to realize he’s caught up in a scam, we’re about to tell him who we really are.

MORE FROM 'TO CATCH AN ID THIEF'

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Part I: On the hunt for ID thieves Around the world in search of ID thieves Behind the year-long investigation What we learned from the online store HansenDiscountElectronics.com Do you know 'Paul Desmond'? More on Card Cops Tips on protecting your identity 'To Catch an ID Thief' Section Front   Add 'To Catch an ID Thief' headlines to your news reader: