A woman in Colorado allegedly walked into multiple banks, pretended to be other customers, and stole nearly $199,000 — and authorities think the crime spree is even bigger than what’s been uncovered so far.
For victim Mariah Rapp, it started with a jarring call from her local bank one morning. “A woman came in with a driver’s license with your name and address on it and tried to take out $28,000 from your line of credit,” her banker told her.
Fortunately, Rapp was well-known at her Adams Bank & Trust branch in Longmont. The banker immediately sensed something was wrong. “For some reason, I just thought, that’s not the Mariah that comes in here. Something’s off,” he told her. The transaction was denied, and the woman walked out empty-handed — but not without leaving behind a photo.
Calm and chatty, the impersonator had claimed she was starting a business. Rapp’s husband, a TikToker, posted about the incident, and the video quickly went viral. “Would you mind maybe not going into my bank with a fake ID that you had made with all of my wife’s information on it?” he said in the post. That viral moment would expose a much bigger problem.
Shan Murphy saw the TikTok and felt her stomach drop. Her bank had emailed her to thank her for a visit she hadn’t made. When she checked her account, $88,000 was gone. “She has an ID with her picture, but my information on it,” Murphy said, adding the woman looked nothing like her.
Then came Levi, another victim. His banking app showed two massive withdrawals — a $111,000 cashier’s check and $25,000 in cash — totaling $136,000. On top of that, someone applied for a $50,000 personal loan in his name, but it was denied. “This is like modern bank robbery,” Levi said.
So far, at least four victims from different banks have come forward. Investigators believe the suspect used high-quality fake IDs, confidence, and social engineering to convince tellers she was someone else. In one case, a cashier’s check from Levi’s account was cashed in Connecticut using yet another fake ID from a different state.
The crimes fall under both identity theft — stealing someone’s personal information to commit fraud — and wire fraud, using deception to trigger financial transactions. Wire fraud is often associated with phishing emails, but as this case shows, it can happen in person.
Longmont Police have released the suspect’s photo, and several banks have opened internal investigations. Some victims have been told they’ll be reimbursed.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, identity theft hit over 2.6 million Americans in 2024, with $12.5 billion in losses tied to fraud.
Police are urging anyone who recognizes the woman to contact the Longmont Police Department, as they believe more victims are out there. In the meantime, they’re reminding people to stay vigilant — monitor your accounts daily, set up transaction alerts, use multi-factor authentication, and consider freezing your credit to stop new accounts from being opened in your name.