Navy Federal Helps Cops Nab Employee After Allegedly Sharing Member Info on Dark Web
Police allege Wade Helms assisted third parties to steal members’ personal identities and money.
Last September, internal fraud investigators at the $156 billion Navy Federal Credit Union grew suspicious of an employee who was possibly involved in criminal activity on the dark web and reported it to police.
After launching an investigation, police arrested Wade Hampton Helms, 34, of Arab, Ala., last week. He previously worked at Navy Federal in Pensacola, Fla.
Investigators of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement found that Helms allegedly used his employee access to compromise dozens of credit union member accounts by taking members’ personal identification information and providing it to third parties via the dark web, an online hub often used by criminals to buy and sell stolen data such as personal identities.
What’s more, Helms allegedly assisted the third parties, who were not identified by police, to gain access to Navy Federal member accounts to steal their funds.
He was arrested by the Arab Police Department on the FDLE warrant and transported to Escambia County Jail in Pensacola.
Investigators did not reveal Helms’ job title, how long he perpetrated this alleged dark web scheme or how much money was stolen.
“While we can’t speak to the details of the investigation, Navy Federal Credit Union takes our members’ personal account information seriously,” a Navy Federal spokesperson said in a prepared statement. “Because of our focus on security, our internal team discovered potential fraudulent activity by a former employee. We worked closely with law enforcement to quickly resolve the situation. Impacted members have been made whole and our partnership with law enforcement remains strong to protect members’ money and information.”
Helms has been charged with 44 felonies, including one felony count of offenses against users of computers, computer systems, computer networks and electronic devices; eight felony counts of criminal use of personal identification information; 34 felony counts of unlawful possession of personal identification information and one felony count of unlawful use of a two-way communications device.
After Helms was booked at the Escambia County Jail on Dec. 29, he was released after posting a $47,000 bond on Dec. 31, according to the jail’s records.