This content was created by Robert Siciliano. This content was uploaded by Robert Siciliano. This is a YouTube news segment titled "Fake Passports and Identity Theft Facilitate Russian Spies www.IDTheftSecurity.com" (posted July 13, 2010). The clip is a televised news report (anchor Leslie) with reporter Brad Puffer, interviews with David Heathfield and other speakers, and commentary from identity-theft expert Robert Siciliano. The story covers arrests of alleged Russian sleeper agents, the disappearance of suspect Robert Metzos after posting bail, and claims that an accused spy (using the name Donald Heathfield) stole the identity of a deceased infant to obtain documents.
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The twists and turns just keep coming in the Russian spy arrests. Breaking news this afternoon, the search is on for one of 11 suspects accused of being Russian secret agents. That man was arrested yesterday in Cyprus, but now he's vanished. 54-year-old Robert Metzos is accused of being the so-called money man, helping to transfer cash to the accused secret agents. Police in the Mediterranean island nation say he disappeared after posting nearly $25,000 bail. An international arrest warrant has now been issued for Metzos. Back here in Massachusetts, there are new accusations against one of two Bay State suspects accused in the spying ring. A man from Canada now claims that the suspect, Donald Heathfield, stole the identity of his long-deceased brother. Our Brad Puffer joins us live. And Brad, this is intriguing stuff, especially since that brother was only a baby when he died.
That's right, Leslie. Donald Heathfield apparently died as a 6-week-old infant, so it came as quite a surprise to the Heathfield family that the name was being used by an alleged Russian spy living in Cambridge.
David Heathfield only has pictures of his baby brother Donald, who died in his crib in 1963 in Montreal, Canada. He told the Canadian Broadcasting Company he was shocked to learn that an alleged Russian spy had apparently stolen his brother's identity. He spoke to us by phone from his home in Ontario, Canada.
It was a real shock to my mom. My mom's on vacation right now, so I, you know, I've been contacting her, let her know what's happening, so she's a little bit distraught.
His brother's identity could have been easily found from this death notice in a local paper. That would have helped create fake passports, birth certificates, and any other documents needed to create a new life in America.
Not surprising at all. Foreign governments have been faking identities for decades to gain access to the U.S.
Identity theft expert Robert Siciliano says it's not just alleged spies with fake identities. It's a pervasive problem.
The system of identification right now as we know it is broken. It is too easy for somebody to commit various forms of fraud using these paper and plastic documents.
But is this couple arrested in Cambridge and the 9 other accused Russian spies just the tip of the iceberg? A former KGB officer now living in England suggests there may be 50 Russian spy couples living in deep cover in the U.S. It's something David Heathfield says is hard to believe 2 decades after the Cold War ended.
I thought that was a thing of comic books now, you know, this Russian spy thing. But, you know, from what I'm reading and what I'm hearing, I guess it still goes on and it's still alive today.
David Heathfield says the family is also worried they may have trouble traveling to the United States now that their name is associated with these arrests. Donald Heathfield, arrested in Cambridge, is expected to appear in federal court tomorrow. Leslie.
