New Bedford Man Arrested for Identity Theft Through Phone Store Job

DARTMOUTH — Dartmouth Police arrested a New Bedford man this past week after he allegedly engaged in identity fraud through customer devices at the mobile phone store where he works.

On Thursday, December 10 at approximately 11:35 a.m., Dartmouth Police detectives arrested Nathaniel Duarte-Souto, 30, of New Bedford, on a warrant associated with identity fraud and larceny over $1,200.

According to police, they received information from the Middletown, Rhode Island Police Department concerning a victim whose identity was stolen by a T-Mobile store employee in Dartmouth. Detective Jose Catana then initiated an investigation.

Police say that during the investigation, Detective Catana confirmed that Duarte-Souto had purchased items with a credit card he set up with the victim’s personal information. According to police, Detective Catana then determined, with the full cooperation of T-Mobile, that Duarte-Souto had allegedly accessed the bank account on the phone of another store customer, and then transferred money to an account to which he had access.

“This incident should serve as an example to all of the importance of securing apps and/or any other personal information before handing any electronic devices over to anyone, including service technicians,” said Dartmouth Chief of Police Brian P. Levesque.