Free Republic

SENDING YOUR CHILD off to their first summer job is a proud moment for any parent. For Kristin Smith of Mesa, Ariz., however, that milestone marked the beginning of a stressful battle to reclaim her child's identity. It all began in mid-July, shortly after her 16-year-old son started a summer gig at a local car dealership. His new employer conducted a routine background check that returned shocking news: A man living in Phoenix was using his Social Security number. Even more shocking was the discovery by the local police department that there was more than one perpetrator. In 1994, a...

For years, Margaret Harrison believed she had an impostor.  There were signs her Social Security number was living a double life.  Four years ago, an unemployment office in West Virginia almost denied her claim, saying she already had a job at a horse farm in Chelan, Wash.  Three years ago, a teller at Bank of America looked up her account number by her Social Security number and then asked, “Is your name Pablo?”