I read with interest your article on
”
Identity Theft.
”
Last year I was a victim of identity theft. In my case, the
person stole my personal information from records at my doctor’s
office and handed it over to her niece who had a similar name to
mine.
Dear Editor:
I read with interest your article on “Identity Theft.” Last year I was a victim of identity theft. In my case, the person stole my personal information from records at my doctor’s office and handed it over to her niece who had a similar name to mine.
She may have succeeded in totally ruining my credit. I received a letter from Wal-Mart informing me that a credit card had been opened in my name and that the address didn’t match the address on file with the credit bureau.
I immediately called to check into the situation. That is when I found out that the person had used my social security number and my birth date.
I filed a police report with the Gilroy PD. Having worked in law-enforcement for many years, I knew that I needed to do my part to follow through with every lead I had and forward any new information to the detective handling my case.
I have been blessed in that the person was found, admitted what she had done and is now doing her time.
Here are some tips on what to do if you feel your identity has been stolen.
Immediately file a police report. If you haven’t already done so, report the fraud to the following organizations:
– Equifax Credit Information Services, Inc.
(800) 525-6285 (Hearing impaired call 1-800-255-0056 and ask the operator to call the Auto Disclosure Line at 1-800-685-1111 to obtain a copy of your report.)
www.equifax.com
– Experian Information Solutions, Inc.
(888) 397-3742/ TDD (800) 972-0322
www.experian.com
– TransUnion
(800) 680-7289/ TDD (877) 553-7803
www.tuc.com
– Call your local police department. Ask the officer to take a report and give you the report number or a copy of the report.
– The FTC, which maintains the Identity Theft Data Clearinghouse – the federal government’s centralized identity theft complaint database – and provides information to identity theft victims. You can call toll-free 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338), visit www.consumer.gov/idtheft or send mail to Identity Theft Data Clearinghouse, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20580.
The FTC collects complaints from identity theft victims and shares their information with law enforcement nationwide. This information also may be shared with other government agencies, consumer reporting agencies, and companies where the fraud was perpetrated to help resolve identity theft related problems.
Hope this helps!
Andi Anderson,
Hollister
