Around the world in search of ID thieves

We’ve decided to give the identity thieves a dose of their own medicine. Our mark? Wendy Kenson, the supposed boss of an identity theft ring who conned Jeff Ball into shipping thousands of dollars of merchandise ordered with stolen credit cards.

Wendy’s e-mail: Hello Mr Chris, Thanks for your mail, am happy you want to invest the with me ...

Finally, Wendy agrees to a meeting in Zurich, Switzerland.

Wendy’s e-mail: I will be glad to assist you invest your funds in valuable and profiable business.

But mysteriously, Wendy suddenly says she won’t be able to make it there herself. Instead she’s sending her trusted Swiss lawyer, Barrister Micheal.

Wendy’s e-mail: My attorney is ready to meet you at the hotel on Friday afternoon ... I have already explain everything to him.

I happen to be in London when I call Barrister Micheal to confirm.

That’s when we notice something about his phone number. Remember the package we delivered for Wendy in Switzerland? Wendy gave a contact number for the person receiving the stolen merchandise, and it’s exactly the same phone number she gave us for her lawyer — another sign Barrister Micheal is directly involved in Wendy’s identity theft ring.

Switzerland is the legendary land of secret bank accounts. It’s here in Zurich that we’ll try to track down the man who could be one of the masterminds behind the international theft ring: the man Wendy calls her trusted attorney.

Hansen (on hidden camera): Hello, Barrister Micheal?

With our hidden cameras, we meet Barrister Micheal in a hotel lobby, and he’s brought along a friend, a woman who seems confused about her own name.

Woman: I’m Edith. Doris. Doris.

Edith, Doris, whatever – but not Wendy.

We take them upstairs to a hotel suite equipped with more hidden cameras.

Hansen: Hey! How are you? Hey, Barrister Micheal. Nice to see you.  Chris Hansen. It’s a pleasure. Please come in. Hey Doris, nice to see you.

I try to get right down to business and ask Wendy’s lawyer what he can tell me about her.

Barrister Micheal: Wendy Kenson?

Hansen: Yes, exactly.

Barrister Micheal: Yeah, she was, she was also in Switzerland.

Hansen: Oh really?  Now how did you meet Wendy originally?

Barrister Micheal: I met her last year. She came…

Hansen: Oh, here in Switzerland?

Barrister Micheal: …to Switzerland. 

But the barrister seems more interested in talking about the woman he’s brought along – Doris. She may not be a swimsuit model, but like Wendy, she says she’s lived in Australia. And like Wendy, she has a business proposition for me.

Hansen: Your business is what now?

Doris: My business is in solar energy trade.

Hansen: Solar energy?

Doris: Yes.

Doris tells me she wants to market a solar-powered battery charger. Not exactly what we came here to talk about, but who knows where this will lead.

Hansen: So, this is the product right here?

Doris: This is the product.

Hansen: Oh really!

Doris: It just arrived.

She tells me it works with all kinds of devices.

Doris: So you can recharge mobile phones, I-Pods – CD – DV—CD players. Cameras.

Hansen: May I see?

Doris: I’ll tell you something else. It’s has a normal light. And it has a UV light.

What’s more, she claims it can even detect counterfeit money.

Hansen: That’s quite a gadget.

Doris: Yeah.

Doris says she wants to market it in the Middle East and Africa, but doesn’t seem to have much of a plan.

Hansen: And do you have a business plan - that you’ve written out?

Doris: Well the business plan is quite simple. That we need to make a business…

Hansen: Yeah.

Doris: …plan together.

Hansen: Right.

What she really seems to want is $200,000 from me.                

Hansen: And when would I start seeing a return? On my $200,000 investment?

Doris: Six months to 12.         

Hansen: Six to 12 months.

I tell Doris I’ll think about it, but I’d rather find out more about Wendy and her lawyer. He says she’s from South Africa.

Hansen: Which law school did you go to?

Barrister Micheal: That was Johannesburg Law School.

Hansen: Johannesburg Law School?

Barrister Micheal: Yeah.

Hansen: Right. What year did you graduate?

Barrister Micheal: It’s quite a long time.

Hansen: Well…

Barrister Micheal: It’s quite a long time.

Hansen: How old, how old are you now?

Barrister Micheal: I’m 36 years.

Hansen: 36. Okay. So probably…

Barrister Micheal: It was about 20 years ago.

Hold on. This doesn’t add up. He’s 36 and got his law degree 20 years ago when he was 16?

He catches himself.

Barrister Micheal: I mis-

Hansen: So they must have...

Barrister Micheal: I meant 20 years ago—about 16 years ago, I mean.         

Hansen: Sixteen years ago? Yeah.

Barrister Micheal: 'Cause I started my education really young.

Hansen: I was just saying, 20 years ago, you’d have been a 16 year old lawyer!

What’s going on? Who is this man? “Wendy” calls him her trusted lawyer. But is he really a lawyer at all?

Hansen:  And what kind of cases do you usually handle?

Barrister Micheal: Criminal cases.

Criminal cases. Sounds fitting. But remember, we’re really here to smoke out Wendy Kenson, the face of the international identity theft ring, so I push this supposed barrister.

Hansen: Where is Wendy now? Is she still in Australia?  I think that the last time...

Barrister Micheal: Last time she called me she told me she was in Europe.  That she wanted to come to Switzerland.  That she was in Paris herself.

Hansen: Yeah.

Barrister Micheal: …that she wanted to come to Switzerland. But then I was in Switzerland...

Not exactly a straight answer. So I press Barrister Micheal for details of the proposed investment I’m supposed to make with Wendy.

Barrister Micheal: It’s very confidential.

But he doesn’t seem comfortable talking about Wendy when Doris is in the room.

Barrister Micheal: I would like to see you in private pertaining to Wendy.

So, Barrister Micheal asks doris to leave so he can talk about Wendy’s secrets with no one else around.

Hansen: We’ll be in touch. Okay?

Doris: Yes, and—we’ll see if...

Hansen: Great.

Doris: …we can do some business together.

Hansen: OK. Thanks so much. I appreciate it. You have a fine day.

Barrister Micheal: OK. Join you shortly, yeah?

Doris: Yeah. See you out there.

Now that Doris is gone, we’re hoping to get the low-down on Wendy, and we’re about to lower the boom on this identity theft gang.

Hansen: I think you came here to scam me out of $200,000.

Barrister Micheal: No, no, no, no.

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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: