By the time Rosa Coronado-Roderick realized her identity had
been stolen, the thief was already out of California and racking up
money at gas stations across the Western United States.
By the time Rosa Coronado-Roderick realized her identity had been stolen, the thief was already out of California and racking up money at gas stations across the Western United States.
Coronado-Roderick, a Hollister resident and teacher for the Pajaro Valley School District in Watsonville, had always been diligent in tracking her finances, she said.
“I didn’t think it could ever hit home because I’m pretty careful,” she said.
After looking at her Citibank credit card statement about a month ago, she noticed she had some charges on it she didn’t make. The charges were made on a day when she and her family had been out of town and she had left her wallet at home, she said.
“We had let a long-time friend stay at our place… and when we all left he came back and took my wallet,” she said.
Her friend had taken her Citibank credit card and used it at two different gas stations, charging $64 total. He then put the credit card back and took her Chevron credit card and left town, she said.
“I got a call from Chevron saying… there are a series of charges that look suspicious,” she said. “I hadn’t used the card in months… and I didn’t even notice it was gone.”
Before Coronado-Roderick noticed her card had been stolen, her friend had charged about $250 – not a substantial amount, but upsetting nonetheless, she said.
“Because it was someone I knew it made it even more of a violation,” she said. “What’s ironic is that the (Citibank) credit card he put back had a $20,000 limit – he could have really gone to town with it. Those (Citibank identity theft) commercials are great – it’s funny to think I’m totally an identity theft victim.”
