Post Office Slip-up Leads
to ID theft
I wanted to share my story from last summer.
I moved apartments and put in my change of
address card with the US Post Office branch
nearest me. Unfortunately,
they did not forward my mail to my new apartment.
So when my mail was dropped at my old location,
the people that lived there just left it
out in a common area that anyone walking
by could take. Because
of that, someone took all personal mail from my bank (including statements)
and credit card applications and filled them out and sent them in my name.
I became a victim of identity theft as a result.
Once discovered, I went to the Post Office
and all they could say was "oops,
oh well."
Here’s my advice: Beware of the US Post Office and change of addresses.
When you move and fill out the change of address card, be sure to watch for
a letter from the Post Office at your new address confirming that you've changed
your address. If you don't get such a letter within a couple weeks, be sure
to check with the Post Office to make sure they indeed paid attention to your
change of address. Also, send your own change-of-address letters to your bank,
credit cards, magazines, etc. Don’t rely 100% on the Post Office’s
change-of-address card.
Regardless of how many times I have been
told that I am not, I am a victim. Our police
agencies need to realize that having one's
identity stolen is emotionally painful, humiliating,
and costly. I have spent an ungodly number
of hours trying to correct the damage that
has been done by the individual who stole
my identity. Professionally, as a teacher
and tutor, my hours are worth thirty-five
dollars. I have been robbed of $5,250 in
time. I have been humiliated in my local
stores because my checks have been rejected
at the check out, and I am emotionally drained.
I am a victim, and Congress needs to recognize
me as such.
My fanny pack was stolen at a coffee shop
in Chicago on Labor Day. By the time I drove
home to cancel my credit cards, they had
already been used. The credit
card companies were very helpful in canceling my cards; however, none of
them told me that I needed to notify the
three major credit reporting agencies.
The police failed to give me this information as well.
My credit union told me to cancel my stolen
checks. Unfortunately, they did not advise
me to close my account and open a new one.
Both stolen checks
were written and forged on the same night as the theft; one at a gambling
boat,
and the other at a major grocery store. Both places required a picture
ID. I learned of the forged checks when a
clerk at the Target store rejected
my personal check for merchandise. The clerk allowed me to use the courtesy
phone
to see why my check had been rejected. I was told that I had bounced a
check at Harrah's Casino (a gambling boat).
I tried to explain the situation and
was told to call Equifax Check Services the next morning. I called and
was told that I needed to address the issue
in writing.
That same day, I received a letter of intent
to collect from this same company. I called
again trying to explain, and I was given
the information
that I
needed to include in the letter to them. This included an affidavit of
forgery (to
be filled out after I requested and received copies of the forged check
from my banking institution which took four days), my mother's maiden
name, and
proof of identity (which had been in the fanny pack). I was told that
once they had received the information, it
could take up to 30 days to clear
my records.
In the meantime, I could not cash a personal
check at any store. I then received a letter
of intent to collect from Telecheck for the
forged
check to the
grocery store. Again, I called to explain. Again, I had to send various
pieces of information
and would have to wait 30 days for my record to clear. Neither company
advised me to contact the credit reporting agencies.
In October, thanks to an investigator for
Target, I was made aware that someone was
opening charge accounts in my name. An employee
of
Target
was suspicious
after opening a new account in my name. She realized that the woman
opening the account was much younger than what the birth date on
the application
indicated. She followed the woman and her male companion out to the
car and wrote down
the license plate number. Of course, all of this happened after she
had charged $989 of stereo equipment and electronics.
The investigator was calling to verify
that I had not opened an account. The investigator
told me that I should call the credit reporting
agencies and request
reports to see who else had inquired into my credit and to flag
my
reports with an identity theft alert. Unfortunately, I cannot say
that this woman
was then arrested, and my chaos ended.
I called my friend in the department of
motor vehicles and had her run the license
plate number. I then called the police to
give
them
the woman's
name,
address, and phone number. The police detective in charge of
my case refused to take any information.
I tried to tell him about
the witness
at the Target
store; again, he would not take any information. His exact words
to me were "You
are not a victim." He explained to me that I was not actually
out any money; therefore, I was not the victim, the credit card
companies were.
Shocked,
I asked him how he could say that. My identity had been stolen,
checks where forged, new accounts had been opened, and my credit
was ruined.
He again
stated that I was not actually out any cash. I hung up angry
and frustrated.
I then followed through on the investigator's
advice; I called the credit reporting bureaus.
Trans Union was easy to contact
and extremely
helpful.
Over the phone,
I was able to get the names of all the credit companies who
had inquired into my credit since the theft.
The representative even
went so far
as to give me
phone numbers for each of the companies. I started calling
companies. Sears opened a new account even
though I had just reported my
card stolen and
told them not to send me a new card. It was "maxed out" at $4,000. J.C
Penney's turned down the new application because I had just closed the other
account (smart people there). And Sprint wireless had given the "new me" a
phone and a service. I closed the accounts immediately, and
page by page filled out all the required paperwork for each
company.
Since I now had a cell phone number with
a well-used service, I decided to call my
detective once again. As a civilian, I
figured that the
police might
call the numbers that had been called on the service and
get some
clues-even though I already had her name and address. Again,
I was told that I
was not a victim.
Discouraged, but with a lot of work yet
to do, I called Equifax credit reporting
bureau. They were harder to reach, but very
helpful. The "new me" went
on a gift certificate buying spree at Montgomery Wards and at Ashley Stewart-a
store I had never even heard of before. Wards told me that they couldn't void
the gift certificates that were purchased on the fraudulent account. It wasn't
their policy. They told me that they would close the account and that it was
over the limit of $2,500. Of course, I would have to fill out all of their
forms and return them with an affidavit of forgery. Ashley Stewart is a clothing
store. The "new me" is now well dressed in over
$1,000 worth of new clothes. They closed the account after
two phone
calls and sent
me the
forms.
That left one credit reporting agency to contact.
Experian was an experience-a nightmarish
experience. No human ever answered the phone
at Experian. I called over
20 times
at all times
of the day.
I tried every possible number option on that recording.
I made up numbers to
try. I
sent a letter including the long list of information
they requested, and received nothing in ten
days -all the while
still trying
to call them.
I sent a second
letter. No answer after another 10 days. I send a certified
letter telling them that the FTC requires them to send
me a copy of
my credit report.
They sent back a form requesting all the information
that I had sent previously. I filled out
the form and sent it
back
certified
and
registered.
I called the FTC to complain; they told
me to send Experian a letter. In 15 days,
I finally received my credit report.
Again,
I called
the companies
who
had made inquiries into my credit. Ameritech told me
that a phone had been install in my name at an address
in Chicago.
The "new me" had installed
a new phone at a "new address." Even better,
Providian Financial didn't know why they had inquired
into my credit
history. The credit
report had given me access to a new phone number for
Experian so I called and
was put on hold. It gave me time to look over my report.
I discovered that Experian had listed the
address of the house with the newly installed
phone as my address.
My
entire credit
history
had changed
its address
without my ever having to move. After 30 minutes
on hold (no exaggeration), I finally heard
a person's
voice.
I told the
customer service rep.
about the erroneous address and asked her how they
received that information. She said
that Providian Financial had sent it to them. Confused,
I asked her to
explain. She said that Providian inquired so as to
send out pre-approved credit card
applications to me. Remember, Providian had no record
of me so they said.
I boldly asked why Experian would change
my address. Her response was that it was
policy to add or change
addresses
whenever
they received information
form credit card companies. This means that Ameritech
sold my "new fraudulent
address" to a credit card company who was
sending pre-approved credit card applications to
the person
who stole my identity.
How much easier
for a thief could it get?
Well, it does get easier if the police
won't do anything. Upset with my detective,
I called his
supervisor
and complained. I was assured
that something
would
be done and my case would be reassigned. I got
a new detective all right. She even called me-to
tell
me
that I hadn't
gotten the other
detective
in trouble
and she really didn't know what I expected her
to be able to
do. After 31/2 months, I blew up. I told her
that I didn't give a shit
whether
he was in
trouble or not. And that considering the Chicago
police department had just put out
a propaganda piece on the local news about how
they were now going to go after identity thieves,
that
I expected
them to
do something
or that
I'd
be happy
to call the press and let them know that the
piece was propaganda (the press loves that).
She shut
up. I continued
with the
fact that I gave
them a name
and address, that I had a witness, and that she
had just installed a phone at a residence in
Chicago. I asked
her if she wanted
me to drive
over there
and pick her up for them as well. She told me
that I couldn't do that. She finally took
the information
I
had collected
and said
that she'd
get back
to me. That was on December 20, 1999.
Trying to get a step ahead of this criminal,
I realized that if she were receiving mail
in my
name at a fraudulent
address
that
maybe
it would
fall under postal
fraud. I called the postal inspector, got a
voice mail, and left a message. An inspector
called
me back the
next day.
I was informed
that
it was
indeed his job to investigate identity theft,
and he took the information that
I had on the individual and the number of the
investigator from Target. In
three
days, I received a letter from him requesting
copies of anything I had regarding opened accounts,
fraudulent
charges,
and
any correspondences with credit
card companies. That was three weeks ago.
The irony of all this is that two weeks
ago, Experian tried to send me additional
information
and left
my P.O.Box number
off
the envelope.
The
Federal Post
Office sent them a corrected address notice.
Experian sent me the notice with a letter
saying because of the confidentiality of the
information they provide, I needed to send
a copy of my driver's
license and
two pieces of
mail to verify
my identity
before they could change my address. They changed
my address because a credit card company sent
a credit card application
to an unknown
address, yet they
won't fix their own error when the Federal
Post Office sends them a corrected address
notice.
If all of this isn't crazy enough, AOL
is now making it even easier for identity
thieves.
For $45, they
can get
all the
information they need
to open fraudulent
accounts. They just have to go to www.aol.com/netfind/whitepages.adp,
type in a name, pay their money, and receive
a person's social security number,
address, automobile information, family history,
roommates, neighbors, income level, physical
description, and
more.
As I mentioned earlier, I am a high school
teacher, and after 5 ½ months
of this farce that is still not complete, I
understand why kids are so messed up. With
adults like these,
and rules
and laws
like these,
why should
they
choose to work. After all, the person who is
believed to have stolen my identity is only
19 and has proven
that
crime does
pay-quite
well-at my
expense.
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So
if the credit card companies provide
relief and monitoring why would you need
this service? Because what the crooks
will do is get a hold of someone like
a utility company and tell them "I've
moved, here is my new address".
The utility company will say "prove
who you are". Of course that is
easy for your crook, they stole everything
they need from you. When they get a bill
with a new address now they will open
up new credit cards after the limited
fraud alert is removed from your account.
Of
course when they don't pay the bills
the banks will hand the account over
to a collection agency. The collection
agency will find you and start harassing
you and of course they will turn a deaf
ear to your complaints about identity
theft. They are working on commission
and will certainly sue you because they
know paying their bill is cheaper then
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