Identity theft is the fastest-growing crime in the United States. In 2013, someone became a victim of identity fraud every two minutes, totaling 13.1 million people. The cost of cleanup is, on average, $500 per person.
Amy Krebs describes what it feels like to become a victim.
Is it okay to publish your name?
Yes. You might think, ‘She’s a victim of identity theft. Why would she be okay with it?’ Here’s why. I thought I had all my ducks in a row. I’m a very careful person. But someone easily infiltrated my credit report and credit history. I feel the need to talk about it because I believe things need to be changed. Me just going back to my day-to-day life doesn’t do that, so I’m putting a name to a victim of identity theft.
I’m fortunate in that the criminal in my case was arrested, pled guilty and was sentenced to a felony. But because this occurred in the state of Ohio, where the criminal and I live, and because it wasn’t a violent felony, she was not sentenced to jail time.
How did you first realize you were a victim of identity theft?
In February 2013, I came home after work on a Friday and received a phone call. I had gotten a call the day before as well from a major credit card company asking me to call them, and I initially thought that that was fraudulent. I thought, ‘Oh sure, I’m going to call this credit card company and talk to them about my account.’ [Sarcastically] I thought it didn’t seem legit.
I cross-checked the phone number, and sure enough, it was to a major credit card company’s fraud department. They said someone had tried to obtain a credit card using my name, address and Social Security number and asked if had I signed up for a card. I told them I had not. It was more serious than I thought. I just thought someone had stolen my credit card and had gone out to eat and purchased some items.
They said, ‘We flagged this. We’ll deactivate the card.’ Even though there were all these flags, they still sent the credit card out to this address that was not mine.
I hung up, and I thought, Some lunatic has all my info. Do I call the police? Do I check my credit report? I decided, I’ll check all three of my credit reports and see what the damage is, and then I’ll follow up with the police.
There was no relaxing from that point on. It’s been almost two years, and it’s still like it just happened.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurashin/2014/11/18/someone-had-taken-over-my-life-an-identity-theft-victims-story/#4da6906f25be
