I had to chuckle to myself when I just read the news item about someone online trying to sell the personal information of one Herman Munster. That is right – you read it correctly – they tried to sell information for Herman Munster, the beloved Frankenstein head of the Munster family. Apparently the wannabe crooks (I call them wannabes because obviously they are not very smart) decided to try to sell credit card numbers and personal information online. Th only problem (other than that that is illegal) is that they tried to sell the information of a television character.
Apparently, these brain surgeons did not realize that Herman Munster was not a real person. They even listed 1313 Mocking Bird Lane as his address in his personal information! They also listed a Mastercard number that appeared to be in the name of Herman Munster. They listed his birth date at August 15, 1964, which is really close to the airdate of the first Munster’s episode, which premiered in September of 1964.
The president of CardCops, Inc, Dan Clements said his company found the information online. CardCops, Inc. is a Malibu Internet security company that monitors for suspicious information such as this online. They often monitor chat rooms, which is where this information was found, for illicit activity. Clements said that a person’s personal information could go for between $4 and $40 on the Internet. Thieves who get this information then can open fraudulent credit card accounts.
This particular incident was posted by an overseas thief known as Supra, so CardCops, Inc. officials aren’t sure if the person did it as a joke, did it hoping no one would notice it wasn’t a real person, or was completely clueless that Herman Munster was indeed a fictional character. The actor who played Herman Munster, Fred Gwynne, died in 1993.