Police trailing ID theft suspect

Area counties hit in shopping spree

A man Ronald Bankston has never met bought a lawn mower he's been coveting and a diamond engagement ring he could never afford to give his wife.

He has done it using Bankston's good name. Police from Cary to Kinston are trying to stop his illegal shopping spree but they need help identifying him.

"I'm surprised he doesn't have a brand new Humvee under Ronald Bankston's name," Bankston's wife, Tammy, said by phone from their home about 60 miles northwest of New Orleans. "Actually, maybe we should check."

The scam started in July. A Home Depot loss-prevention specialist called Tammy Bankston one Saturday morning to ask whether she and her husband just bought two lawn mowers at a store in North Carolina. She nearly laughed. Tammy Bankston was tending to the kids at home; Ronald was working in Baton Rouge.

Since July 11, the man has charged more than $40,000 worth of goods at more than 15 stores in Bankston's name, Tammy Bankston said. He has been turned down at dozens more.

Based on detective work Tammy Bankston has been able to do in the past six weeks, here's how the scam works: The man walks into retail stores such as Lowe's, Radio Shack and Zales Jewelry and says he wants to open a store charge card. He flashes a New Hampshire driver's license with Ronald Bankston's name and Louisiana address.

If a clerk asks too many questions, he bristles about bad customer service and storms out. The lax cashiers -- some who've told him that he should simply use the store charge card already opened in Ronald Bankston's name -- don't suspect anything.

Smithfield Police Detective P.M. Behe thinks the man is also using at least two other fake names. A store clerk at the Lowe's Home Improvement in Smithfield caught on last week and told the man that he'd seen him claim to be another guy the week before.

The guy walked out but not before store management captured his image on camera, Behe said.

Luckily, the Bankstons caught the mischief early enough to alert credit companies. They've put a freeze on their accounts, which prevents even them from obtaining any new credit cards or taking out loans for 90 days. The Bankstons are not on the hook for any of the stolen merchandise.

Tammy Bankston can't quite figure out how they became victims of identity theft. She and her husband are meticulous with their finances and records. Her best guess is that personal financial records may have gotten lost in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

She worries there could be many other victims.

Smithfield police ask that anyone who can help identify the man in the Lowe's surveillance photo call 934-2121.