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From the files of “The Raybourn Effect”
Copyright 2004
Identity Theft… a personal story
When we think of "identity theft" we often think of credit card
fraud - others stealing our social security number to obtain
credit cards.
All the clever commercials out there make us associate identity
theft with credit card theft.
I'm going to share with you two accounts of how my identity was
stolen and in both cases, credit cards were not involved. In one
year I fell victim twice to identity theft.
I'll also be sharing steps on what to do if you fall victim.
In July of 2001 I moved from Colorado to Texas. In May of 2003 I
began receiving phone calls from lawyers demanding payment for
bad checks I had apparently written in Colorado only a month
earlier.
Several checks had been written all over Colorado at convenient
stores – checks with my name, an old business name of mine and
an address I have not lived at for more than 8 years.
While I'm on the phone with the lawyer I stated that on two of
those dates I made purchases at Walmart and Lowes here in Texas.
Immediately the lawyer stated I needed to file an Identity Theft
police report and fed ex it to them.
I was also able to have the checks mailed to me, front and back.
While waiting for the checks I filed a police report and checked
my credit report online of all three agencies. The checks weren't
on there - YET – but they had some odd things in there, including
me living in Sanger, California. I've never lived California.
That should have raised a red flag for me, but it wasn't until a
year later that I discovered "why" they had me living in
California.
Was I panicking? Well I had a warrant out for my arrest, and I
had lawyers contacting me... yes, I was in an extreme panic mode.
My first step was to file a police report. My second step was to
file affidavits with the credit agencies in case these bad checks
appeared. I'll detail all the steps I took below, steps you should
follow if you fall victim.
Once the checks arrived I had to have the police come back to file
a follow up report. There were more than four different phone
numbers on the checks and the driver's license number belonged to
some lady that lived almost three hours south of where the checks
were written. And, none of the signatures matched on the checks.
All the checks were written on a checking account that did not
exist and never existed. This means a much greater crime than
simply writing a check on an account that is short on funds.
But you know - these checks were time stamped. These checks were
written in convenient stores. Doesn't that mean that they had
surveillance cameras? They had a picture of this person at all
these stores.
How was I to get it? In order to file an identity theft report in
Colorado I had to travel there. I would have to hire a lawyer and
investigator in Colorado to obtain any surveillance films. I didn't
have that kind of money.
For months I was a bit nervous wondering how many more checks were
out there and if I was going to get more phone calls from lawyers.
But I had the police report to back me up in case more calls came
in.
Luckily no more phone calls came. But I still wonder if there are
more checks out there and it's been two years. I still wonder what
this person is doing with my information. I still wonder WHO the
person is.
How did this person get my information? The only thing I can think
of is that somehow they got an old checkbook of mine. But these
bad checks were from a bank I have never used.
Who this person is and how they got all my information will most
likely forever remain a mystery.
Now I'm always worried about things. Worried about information I
throw away. I'm worried about putting a check in the mail to pay my
water bill. I've even gotten to the point that anytime I go
shopping I save my receipt so I can have proof of where I am.
Story number one did not involve theft of my social security number
to get credit cards. Now for story number two.
Story number two involves someone using my social security number
not to obtain credit cards, but to obtain employment.
Remember when I wrote above that the Credit Agencies had me living
in Sanger, California? Here's why.
Almost one year to date after the first call from the lawyer in
Colorado I received a letter from the IRS stating I had back taxes
I owed them.
I called them and they sent me all records they had for me for the
past seven years. I get these records and what do I find? I have
worked all over California under a man's name who lived in Sanger.
I was wrong to state I was a victim of identity theft twice in one
year. I should have stated I was made aware of being a victim twice
in one year. This man of Sanger has been using my social security
number since 1997. It took until 2004 before I ever knew about it!
The IRS said I had one month to prove I did not work in those places
all around Sanger, California.
So now I'm off to the following:
Filing another police report
Writing the credit agencies
Filing a report with the Consumer Identity Theft Org.
But, now I have to call all these companies in California (on my
dime). Of all the companies listed, ten plus companies, only one
had a valid phone number. But they didn't speak English. No help
there.
And there were no listings for this man of Sanger.
I spent a month worrying, in yet another panic mode because I didn't
know how I was going to prove that I didn't work for these companies.
The IRS stated I needed something in writing from all these companies
stating they never employed me.
On the day I was required to call the IRS with proof I never worked
for the companies I spoke to an agent that couldn't find anything of
what I was talking about. All of the sudden, Mr. Sanger, California
was no longer on my IRS report. What the????
After talking with a few different IRS agents, and a few hours on
the phone with them, I discover they removed all of his information
on their own as they determined it wasn't me. I spent 30 days trying
to clear that up and worrying the entire time! They removed it three
weeks before.
So see, Identity Theft is not always about credit cards. Yes, it's
typically about your credit. But both times I fell victim it wasn't
about someone filling out an application to get a credit card.
Many people with bad credit believe they will not fall victim to
identity theft. They need to think again.
So how do you protect yourself? It's hard. How did Mr. Sanger,
California get my social security number? Was it just a random guess
on his part? What are the odds? Well, here's your proof it can happen.
CNBC reports that identity theft is a war we won't win any time soon.
CNBC reports that over 9 million people in 2003 fell victim to identity
theft.
One out of every nine people reading this article right now will fall
victim to identity theft.
What do you do when it happens to you?
1. File a police report immediately and then after the officer completes
it, pay the fee to obtain your own copy. Immediately make several copies
of that report and then file it away.
2. Regardless of the type of identity theft, report it to ALL three credit
agencies. Equifax (800.525.6285), Experian (888.397.3742) and Trans Union
(800.680.7289). This just in case something does appear on your report.
3. Get online and get a copy of your credit report from all three agencies.
You can get it for free simply by subscribing 30-days free to a financial
advising service. Here's one such site: http://www.consumerinfo.com/.
You can cancel the free trial prior to the 30 days end, but only do so
after you have printed your report from all companies.
Remember, check your report at least once a year. Personally, I advise you
to do it twice yearly.
4. Call the Consumer Identity Theft Organization. 877.438.4338. File a
report with them. They will provide you with a reference number that you
need to have on record. Do this step ONLY after you have filed the police
report(s).
5. If your identity theft involves the use of your social security number,
call the Social Security office in your city. Or you can call 800.772.1213.
They need to be aware of this. You'll need the reference number the Consumer
Identity Theft Organization provided to you.
6. Not a necessary step, but one you may want to consider. Change your
social security number. Start new. If you have a long, established credit
history, think twice before doing this. But if your credit isn't all the
great, then I would recommend you do this.
7. Visit: http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/ complete the complaint form on
that site. Will filling out this claim personally do you any good? Most
likely it will not. The importance of doing this is to help agencies and
law enforcement develop cases and establish patterns. You filing the claim
is helping all of us against the war on Identity Theft.
Mr. Sanger, California and Ms. BadCheck Colorado will most likely not be
caught - or if they are, I'll probably never know about it.
Identity Theft is considered white collar crime and it will never take
precedence over violent crimes.
How can you avoid it happening to you? According to a report on CNBC they
state if you can, only use credit cards to pay for things because credit
cards are protected by federal law.
They state you should never use paper checks or debit cards.
ok, that's fine for those who have great credit and have credit cards. But
for those that can only pay for their bills with checks - what does one do?
I guess just keep your fingers crossed it will never happen to you.
But you can protect yourself by investing $20 for a shredder. Shred anything
and everything with any type of personal information.
Take the time to actually look at your credit card statements each month.
Look for odd charges on them. Many times we don't go over them in detail.
Take the time, it's worth it.
In reality there's nothing we can do that will absolutely stop someone from
stealing our identity. But we can take extra steps to deter it a bit.
A great resource site developed by a woman that fell victim (her own employer
stole her identity) is: http://IDTheftCenter.org.
I would never wish what happened to me to happen to anyone else. Mentally,
emotionally and physically it's a horrible thing to happen to anyone.
If it happens to you, I hope I've been helpful in providing some tools to
assist you.
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Michelle Raybourn has been marketing online for 10 years,
the last four of which have been full-time. In addition
to offering valuable advertising services to help others
succeed online, Michelle has also been publishing for 6
years. Subscribe to "The Raybourn Effect" today:
http://www.theraybourneffect.com
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