CALIFORNIA RURAL RESIDENTS FACE A RISE IN IDENTITY THEFT Rural residents face a rise in identity theft:

Rural residents face a rise in identity theft
Issue Date: February 21, 2007

By Christine Souza
Assistant Editor

Cliff Emery is aware of the irony of his situation. A former farmer, he is among the more than 100 members of a Stanislaus County almond hulling and shelling cooperative whose personal information was stolen over the Christmas holiday. Emery is also an electronics surveillance specialist with the Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department.

It just goes to show that identity theft can strike anyone--and anywhere.

"The burglars broke into the co-op hoffice and did a smash-and-grab. Once the alarm went off they vacated the premises with, at the very least, a computer that contained our Social Security numbers and tax identification numbers," Emery said. "Now the growers in the co-op are sitting around saying, 'What do we do?' It was a real wake-up call for my wife and I…a real jolt of reality."

In response, Emery helped organize a presentation at the Agricultural Center in Modesto where Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department detectives educated co-op members and other farmers about identitytheft.

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