An identity theft ring that involved the personal information of 10,000 credit card holders was busted in New Jersey, federal authorities said today. Four men arrested by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service are expected to be arraigned at 2:15 p.m. this afternoon in federal court in Newark. A fifth suspect is at large. HSBC Bank and American Express customers were among the victims, according to criminal complaint. The suspects allegedly either used the personal information to open new accounts with banks or hijacked existing accounts by submitting change of address forms via the Internet. (courtesy of ABC News)

The irony in this report is simple – if a real customer submits a real change of address chances are good that they won’t get a bill next month. They will get a past due fee, and if they have an interest-free promotion they will owe all the interest too. Perhaps our generalization does not apply to all of HSBC but it certainly applies to HSBC Finance.

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