CBS Evening News Online Edition - 2005-12-01

Channel: malgent

Transcript

Language: English (original, YouTube automatic captions)

[0:00] Hello, I'm Bob Schaefer and welcome to

[0:02] the CBS Evening News online edition.

[0:05] Just ahead, 56 jewelry heists with a

[0:07] take of over 5 million and all done by

[0:11] the same thieves. We'll show you how

[0:13] they do it and why the FBI is worried.

[0:16] And sky-high credit card interest rates.

[0:19] We'll show you why they become such a

[0:21] trap for millions of consumers. It's all

[0:23] starting now on the CBS Evening News

[0:26] online edition.

[0:28] With Christmas coming on, the FBI is

[0:31] asking for the public's help to track

[0:33] down a band of thieves who target

[0:36] jewelry stores at shopping malls. They

[0:38] have struck repeatedly in at least 10

[0:41] states now and have eluded capture for

[0:43] some two and a half years. Here's Jim

[0:46] Stewart.

[0:48] Watch carefully and don't blink. When it

[0:50] comes to robbing jewelry stores, the FBI

[0:52] says these guys may be the best in the

[0:54] business. No subtleties, no fancy gear.

[0:57] just rip open the chain door of a mall

[0:59] store and grab what they can. They've

[1:02] now done it 56 times for a take of over

[1:05] $5 million. And with Christmas upon us,

[1:07] the FBI admits it's worried.

[1:09] >> With the holiday season coming up, we

[1:12] don't want to get in a situation where

[1:14] where these individuals are forced into

[1:16] a corner and we have a violent situation

[1:17] in one of the malls.

[1:18] >> What they lack in taste, the gang makes

[1:20] up for in volume. They avoid big glitzy

[1:23] stores with their trademark diamonds.

[1:25] Instead, they concentrate on jewelry

[1:27] stores and malls, going for what's in

[1:29] the cases with an emphasis on heavy

[1:31] men's jewelry and watches.

[1:33] >> Most of the times, the theft occurs in

[1:35] one state, but the products are fenced

[1:37] in another. It's easy to sell stolen

[1:39] jewelry and gems.

[1:40] >> The FBI thinks the fiveman gang is based

[1:42] in New York, but travels up and down the

[1:44] East Coast, robbing stores from Florida

[1:47] to Connecticut. The bureau calls them

[1:49] the Northeast Gate Cutting Crew. And

[1:51] lately, they've been hitting stores like

[1:53] this one in York, Pennsylvania about

[1:55] once every 2 weeks. And the MMO is

[1:58] nearly always the same. After slipping

[2:00] into a mall through a fire exit, they

[2:02] use power saws to cut through the front

[2:04] gate of their target just before the

[2:06] mall opens or right after it closes.

[2:08] >> In most cases, the subjects do not

[2:10] attempt to enter the safe and are

[2:11] usually in the store for a very short

[2:13] period of time. This is a very

[2:15] professional crew,

[2:16] >> which has also been uncommonly lucky.

[2:18] Surveillance cameras show that mall

[2:20] walkers out for an early stroll have

[2:22] actually seen the gang at work and

[2:24] apparently thought nothing of it. Jim

[2:26] Stewart, CBS News, Washington. New signs

[2:29] tonight that inflation is well under

[2:31] control gave Wall Street a boost today.

[2:34] Stocks resumed their year-end rally in a

[2:36] big way, including a tripledigit gain

[2:38] for the Dow. The government said today

[2:41] that American consumers spent more than

[2:43] they earned in October for the fifth

[2:45] straight month, dipping into savings, of

[2:48] course, to do it. And then there are

[2:50] those who spend money they don't have.

[2:52] As we reported last night, Americans are

[2:54] racking up record credit card debt and

[2:57] record numbers are behind on their

[3:00] payments, which is all just fine, it

[3:02] turns out, with the credit card

[3:04] companies, as you'll see in part two of

[3:06] our special series. Here's Trish Regan.

[3:10] William Love is getting a master's in

[3:12] business administration along with an

[3:14] advanced degree in debt.

[3:17] >> How much credit card debt do you have?

[3:18] >> Currently, it's just about under $40,000

[3:21] right now.

[3:22] >> 40,000?

[3:22] >> Yes.

[3:23] >> His minimum payments alone total $600 a

[3:26] month.

[3:27] >> Your living expenses, food, even some

[3:29] frivolous items I have put on my credit

[3:31] cards.

[3:32] >> The interest rates on his cards range

[3:34] from 12 to 22%. Even if he could pay it

[3:37] off in five years, he'd still pay over

[3:40] $20,000

[3:42] just in interest.

[3:43] >> The interest rates really are putting a

[3:47] lot of pressure on me.

[3:49] >> This is what oils me up and get me

[3:51] started for the day. Really,

[3:52] >> it was rising interest rates that put

[3:54] 82-year-old Ruth Watt on a debt

[3:56] treadmill. Shortly after her husband

[3:59] died, she had a lot of household

[4:01] expenses. Before she knew it, she was

[4:03] drowning in $20,000 of credit card debt.

[4:07] >> Were there ever days that you felt

[4:10] completely overwhelmed?

[4:13] >> That was every day.

[4:14] >> As she struggled to make the payments,

[4:16] she incurred late fees, over limit

[4:18] charges, and triggered hikes in her

[4:20] interest rates. It's the classic debt

[4:23] trap for millions of card holders. And

[4:25] the banks are living off consumers

[4:27] mistakes. Last year, credit card

[4:29] companies collected $14 billion in

[4:32] penalty and other fees. That's nearly

[4:34] half the industry's $33 billion in

[4:38] profits.

[4:38] >> The penalty fees are very avoidable. Um,

[4:42] just pay on time. Don't wait for the

[4:43] last minute.

[4:44] >> Late payments can trigger default rates

[4:46] as high as 30%. It's all spelled out in

[4:49] those offers you get in the mail. Rates

[4:51] may increase if we do not receive the

[4:53] minimum payment due or you exceed your

[4:56] credit line. the interest rates can

[4:58] double or triple um even though there

[5:01] really hasn't been any more risk to the

[5:04] credit card company by that consumer.

[5:06] >> A legal clinic helped Ruth Watt secure a

[5:08] special mortgage and negotiated with the

[5:10] card companies to reduce her outstanding

[5:13] balance. William Love is looking for

[5:15] work, wondering how he'll ever pay off

[5:17] his cards.

[5:19] >> You're thinking, well, h how how is this

[5:22] even possible, let alone how am I going

[5:24] to get out of it? As you can see, the

[5:26] catch 22 is that the people with the

[5:29] most debt are the ones who end up the

[5:31] most stuck. William Love, for example,

[5:33] can't get lower rates because his

[5:35] outstanding debt is just too high. Bob,

[5:37] >> this is just amazing. What should people

[5:40] do when they get into these kinds of

[5:42] messes?

[5:42] >> Well, I'm going to be back tomorrow.

[5:43] We're going to have some answers and

[5:45] some solutions for you. We're going to

[5:47] be talking to a financial planner who

[5:49] has a very set strategy on how to get

[5:51] out of debt and how to stay out of debt.

[5:53] >> Okay. Well, thank you very much, Trish.

[5:55] More stories are just a click away, but

[5:57] don't forget to join me on television

[5:58] for the on air edition of the CBS

[6:01] Evening News. On Friday's broadcast, the

[6:03] story of just how far some folks went to

[6:07] get a high school football star

[6:09] reinstated for a big game. For

[6:11] cbsnews.com,

[6:13] I'm Bob Schaefer.