Hunnicutt

Local police officer wins awards for his work on white-collar crime

BY BILL FREEHLING

Date published: 6/7/2008

BY BILL FREEHLING

As a detective who focuses on "white-collar crimes" for the Fredericksburg Police Department, Wayne Hunnicutt isn't too worried about the stability of his job.

"Fraud is job security," said Hunnicutt, who was recently recognized for his investigations of crimes such as identity theft, counterfeiting and fraud.

Hunnicutt has been a police officer since 1996 and in the Fredericksburg Police Department since 2002. He's been a detective for the past 2 years, handling all types of crimes but focusing on fraud.

Last month, Hunnicutt was among those recognized in Richmond as a "Fraud Fighter" by the Virginia State Police, which has an insurance fraud division.

Insurance fraud costs each Virginia household between $200 and $1,000 a year in increased premiums, according to state police. Last year, the state police made 208 arrests for insurance fraud.

Hunnicutt was involved in a case in which a Fredericksburg man reported that his motorcycle, worth about $9,000, had been stolen. The bike was entered into a national database and later found in California.

The man who filed the report later admitted that he claimed the motorcycle had been stolen so he could collect insurance money.

That's an example of his work with insurance fraud, but Hunnicutt said most of his cases deal with identity theft involving stolen credit cards, as well as bank and social security numbers.

He says identity theft is a "bad, bad problem" and believes there's a good chance that nearly everyone will someday be affected.

According to a survey released last year, about 4 percent of the U.S. population had fallen victim to identity theft within a year of the late-2006 survey. That suggests that 8.8 million Americans were identity theft victims in 2006, according to the data, which was provided by the National White Collar Crime Center.

To prevent identity theft, Hunnicutt advises people to be especially vigilant with their debit cards, as criminals who steal them can clean out a bank account before the card can be reported stolen.

"Don't let your debit card leave your side," Hunnicutt said. "Don't use it on the Internet."

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia also recently recognized Hunnicutt for his work in a credit card fraud case that led to 155 federal indictments and a 13-year prison sentence for one man.

Hunnicutt said technology has made it easier for criminals to make fake checks and steal important personal and financial information. That's forced police to constantly evolve to keep up with the technology. Hunnicutt plans to stay with the specialty.

"Fraud is my niche," Hunnicutt said. "This is my thing."

Bill Freehling: 540/374-5405
Email: bfreehling@freelancestar.com

Date published: 6/7/2008