Identity Theft -- a Handy Glossary

Aug. 3, 2007 -- Face -- the thieves refer to each victim as a "face." They'll put wigs and makeup on their accomplices to make them look like the face in the victim's ID. Each face represents thousands of dollars in potential fraud return for a boss.

Work -- that is the potential for fraud represented by a set of IDs, checks and credit cards. Once a thief has a new purse, the contents represent "work" that can be done.

Jack Boys -- a term the gangs use to refer to the actual purse thieves who "jack" the purses out of cars. They can be associates who work mainly with one ring, or freelancers who know to whom they can sell the contents of a purse. Immediately after stealing a purse, the jack boys go to a gas station to try out the credit cards. If they work, they know the crime hasn't been reported yet, and they race to department stores and start buying. Once the cards have been "blown out" (i.e., the cards have finally been canceled), they sell the identity items in the purse (driver's license, Social Security card, checkbook, etc.) for $300-$500 to a boss in one of the rings. The jack boys keep any cash and valuables in the purse.

Smoker or Casher -- Once the boss has a new piece of work, he will dispatch an underling to find a "smoker" (as in crack smoker desperate enough to enter a bank and commit a crime knowing it will be caught on tape) or "casher" to impersonate the face. The smoker will assume the identity of the victim and start cashing checks, either checks written on the victim's checking account, or checks made out to that victim on another victim's checking account. The boss will tell the smoker where to go, how much to cash, what to say, etc. The smoker gets a cut of approximately $300 for every $2,000 check. Often a smoker, impersonating just one face, can hit three consecutive banks within 24 hours.

Still dressed as the victim, smokers will also go to store after store opening "instant credit" lines in the victim's name. Using the new credit lines, they then purchase expensive items the boss has preselected. Former smoker Jennifer New claims that instant credit lines could be opened at seven different stores before the ID was "burnt" (no longer usable).