(Dec. 23)

Police arrested a 28-year-old woman in Myrtle Beach, S.C., on Dec. 18 and charged her with buying more than $10,700 worth of merchandise from Home Depot, Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Costco using false identities, according to an article in The Sun Times.  

Amanda Kay Ellison was arrested at a Costco store when she tried to purchase $4,354 worth of merchandise with a check. A clerk, suspicious because she did not resemble the photo on her driver’s license, called the police.

Ellison told the police officer she had recently given birth to twins and gained a lot of weight, the newspaper reported.

In a subsequent search, police found several checkbooks, drivers’ licenses and military IDs in Ellison’s possession, along with receipts for merchandise from various stores. Ellison was charged with 10 counts of financial identity theft.