NATCHEZ &045;&045; Small town life and preventative measures have kept major identity theft low on the radar for local law enforcement officers.

Natchez Police Chief Mike Mullins and Sheriff Ronny Brown said they’ve seen very few cases of identity theft and credit card fraud in recent years.

&uot;The one’s we’ve had have not been very elaborate,&uot; Mullins said. &uot;Typically there will be a lost purse and a few days later we’ll turn up charges on the credit card. Or a family member will get a credit card number, order merchandise and have it delivered to another address.&uot;

Brown said if the Sheriff’s Office receives a report of a stealing identity they put an investigator on the case, talk to the credit card companies and see what is being purchased. He said the most common form of credit card fraud he’s seen is when someone orders something on someone else’s credit and has it delivered to an abandoned house.

He also said some criminals use phone fraud to try and obtain card numbers or waitresses in restaurants may take the number from patrons cards.

Mullins said many cases of identity theft are not reported to the police.

Janet McNeely, the director of retired seniors programs at the Natchez Senior Center and chairperson of the Triad council, has spent the last year educating seniors on how to avoid being victims of fraud.

She said one of the newer cases of theft involves pharmacy cards used to buy prescription drugs.

&uot;Never give any information to anybody period, on the phone or the Internet, unless you know who they are,&uot; McNeely said.

She said scam artists often zero in on the senior population because they are considered trusting.

McNeely said she believes cases are decreasing.

&uot;Education is where it is at,&uot; she said. &uot;Law enforcement is more into it now than they have been.&uot;