[RJayneJ]

I found myself the victim of identity theft about 2 years ago. My husband is a builder and had applied for a construction loan and suddenly he was turned down because of my credit report. When I saw the thing, there were about a dozen accounts that had been added to my credit report that were not mine. It has taken me all this time to get them all removed with one die hard outfit that came just yesterday. They were mostly credit card but a few were accounts with a few places that have their own credit plans like Target Stores and Toys R Us. The amounts were anywhere from 3000 to 6000 dollars. I also reported it to the police through a nephew that is a detective with the county.

The Target account was done by someone on foot walking into the store. When I told them that I am not ambulatory and require a scooter to get around and this was very distressing to me they finally removed it from my credit report. I suspect that part of the problem was one of the credit report places that saw a similarity in names and addresses and combined my accounts with the thief's. When I would write to explain that the bills were not mine they would never acknowledge that I had written so I began writing all over the forms they would send so they would have to see it.

Now I tell them that they have the wrong person and it is not my bill and to please stop harassing me or I will turn the matter over to my attorney. That broke the log jam and except for the one I mentioned came yesterday.

[CWOJackson]

It can be worse, far worse.

There is a growing problem with people using someone else's identification when they are arrested (either no ID on them or a fake ID); usually they will claim to be a family member (sister/brother) or a friend (from school). They will use that name and date of birth. If it's not a felony they are usually released pending trial. When they don't show up a warrant is issued.

If it was a gross misdemeanor the police may come to the home or place of work of the real person and arrest them, otherwise the warrant sits there until the person is stopped for a broken tail light, license renewal, etc.

Suddenly the real person is under arrest and insisting that they are innocent...which the officers hear all the time. When that person is booked in they are fingerprinted. At some point in time those prints will be compared to those from the original arrest for which the warrant was issued.

The innocent person will be released, but their name and date of birth will forever be in the system as an alias for the original person arrested; it cannot be removed. So two years down the line, the innocent person gets stopped for a broken tail light and guess what?

Recently we had a local case where a prostitute had used the same name/address repeatedly (an old school friend). Since she always showed up for trial and did her time there was never a chance to spot her false ID. She turned up dead and the police went to her home to notify her husband that his wife was dead...and she (the real wife) was sitting in the living room.