Northumberland County Woman Faces 40 Counts of Theft and Forgery Charges
By: Jayne Ann Bugda
Updated: October 24, 2012
Emily Fitzgerald was in a Milton Courtroom Tuesday accused of stealing $42,000 in credit card debt from her own parents and is soon headed to trial
"Drug court in Northumberland County has a drug court treatment program and she applied for that, so what happens after that will depend on whether she is accepted." said Detective Greg Drollinger of the Watsontown Police Department, "They will do an evaluation of her and decide whether they accept her or not into that drug court."
Watsontown Detective Greg Drollinger handled the case and says although it's harder to when family is involved.
He says there are things you can do to protect your identity.
"There is not a whole lot you can do when it is a family member, they know your personal information. It's usually strangers like people calling you or out in public using your credit card." Said Drollinger
Many of us carry a card these days... So Drollinger suggests you know where it is at all times
"Try to keep an eye on it, when you give your credit card to people when your making purchases out."
After you make a transaction -- it's time to get rid of the paper trail.
"If your throwing out something, whether it's bank statements or anything with personal information on it, shred them."
Finally... Scammers are using phones more and more these days to obtain personal information.
"Do not give your personal information out to anyone over the phone. A bank will not call and ask you for your personal information over the phone." added Drollinger
It's not a guarantee but these tips can help keep your identity out of the hands of the wrong hands.
