Identity fraud is a significant issue for millions of consumers and can lead to severe financial loss in some situations. Criminals often commit identity fraud to facilitate car theft by using a stolen credit profile with a higher rating than their own. Recently, authorities arrested a Texas woman who targeted an elderly person and used their identity to apply for and obtain multiple auto loans.
Using identity fraud to commit car theft isn’t unheard of, but this woman took things to the extreme
According to KSAT, Cassandra Trevino, 42, was apprehended by police in San Antonio, Texas, on April 7th. Her modifications include identity fraud and elder exploitation. The woman had obtained the identification of an 87-year-old and exploited it to apply for multiple auto loans. Notably, she had the individual’s driver’s license with an altered birthday and other identifying information, such as their social security number.
Cassandra, like many others who commit identity fraud, was partly successful. According to the investigation, she repeatedly left dealerships with cars. However, they would soon discover her ruse and repossess the vehicles. She applied for 46 auto loans between October 30th last year and February 11th, 2025, which is a lot.
So, how did Cassandra’s repeated use of stolen information and identity fraud lead to her capture? According to local authorities, she left her actual forms of identity in one of the repossessed vehicles. Naturally, this brought the authorities directly to her. Many assume that she obtained the person’s information through an online fraud, although the exact method remains unknown. This is a developing story. Unfortunately, older folks are frequently targets for fraud, and it’s evident that the suspect recognized that.
