Copyright 1999 Gannett Company, Inc.
USA TODAY
April 6, 1999, Tuesday, FINAL EDITION
SECTION: MONEY; Pg. 1B
LENGTH: 1600 words
HEADLINE:
Stolen identity hostages Thieves cash in on others' names, credit and future
BYLINE: Tom Lowry
BODY:
Yvonne Flores realized someone had stolen her identity when she
discovered her name on a $ 48,000 mortgage for a house 550 miles
away.
The 22-year-old high school English teacher, who lives with her
parents, had never even been to Mt. Pleasant, Texas, where the
ranch
house was purchased in her name.
Flores is among an exploding number
of unsuspecting citizens whose
identities have been stolen. And the thieves
are no longer satisfied
with making a couple of hundred dollars worth of
fraudulent credit
card purchases. Bogus transactions are running into tens
of thousands
of dollars, and theft victims are spending years trying to
clear
their credit records.
The rise comes as more and more personal
information is bought
and sold through information brokers. And governments
have contributed:
13 states still use Social Security numbers -- the key to
unlocking
personal information -- as driver's license numbers.
No one has comprehensive figures, but Trans Union, one of the
major credit reporting agencies, says it received 554,450 requests
for
help from fraud victims and potential victims last year, up
from only 35,235
in 1992. Two-thirds of the complaints involve
identity theft. Trans Union
says it receives about 1,400 calls
a day from identity fraud victims.
Flores says she never would have known about the house if a credit
report hadn't listed the purchase. That was 18 months ago, and
Flores is
still struggling to regain her identity.
"It's just horrible," she
says. "I feel so violated, knowing
that someone knows all my information."
Because of the alarming rise in identity crime, Congress is looking
into toughening federal laws.
Right now, "It's a crime with very
little consequences for the
perpetrator," says Beth Givens, director of the
Privacy Rights
Clearinghouse, an advocacy group for victims. "There's little
possibility law enforcement will pursue and investigate this crime.
And
if they are caught, imposters face very light sentences."
Identity
thieves steal Social Security numbers -- widely used
to identify individuals
-- driver's license numbers and mothers'
maiden names, often used as a kind
of password to protect an account
-- to open credit card accounts and take
out loans.
Frauds often buy the information from thieves who
specialize in
stealing the financial keys to someone's identity. They do
that
by "shoulder surfing" at an automated teller machine -- looking
over victims' shoulders as they enter a personal identification
number.
They steal information from mailboxes, get credit reports
by posing as
landlords and "dumpster dive" to retrieve discarded
credit card bills and
receipts from the trash.
More than bank robbers
The
result of such thefts: astounding amounts of debt racked up
in the name of
innocent victims.
The average take for a bank robber is about $
2,500. But an identity
thief runs up an average of $ 20,000 to $ 30,000 in
bills on each
victim, says Greg Regan of the U.S. Secret Service, which
investigates
credit card fraud.
"The more we move to a cashless
society, the more possible victims
are out there," Regan says. Organized
crime has made a big business
of identity theft, Regan says. The Secret
Service has task forces
in 12 cities to investigate such activities by
Nigerian gangs.
"Once you have your credit information compromised,
it can turn
your life upside down," Regan says.
Faced with an
explosion of cases, lawmakers are starting to take
notice. Some members of
Congress plan to introduce the Personal
Information Privacy
Act, which would:
* Prevent credit bureaus from giving out Social
Security
numbers, unlisted telephone numbers and mothers' maiden names.
* Prohibit marketers or information brokers from selling
Social
Security numbers without the owners' consent.
* Prohibit state motor
vehicle departments from selling
Social Security numbers and photographs to
marketers.
* Prohibit distribution of a consumer report for
transactions
not initiated by the consumer or without a consumer's written
authorization.
* Prohibit the sale or transfer of a consumer's
financial
transaction or experience information for marketing purposes
without
consent.
* Provide civil and criminal penalties for
violations.
"Identity theft is much more serious than meets the
eye," says
Rep. Jerry Kleczka, D-Wis., one of the bill's sponsors. "We need
to get a leash on this problem."
Some prosecutors are making
cases. Three weeks ago, a Chula Vista,
Calif., woman pleaded guilty to using
a stolen Social Security
number to obtain more than $ 16,000 in credit and
then filing for
bankruptcy in the name of her victim, who lived in Georgia.
Theresa
Marie Thompson-Snow, 29, pleaded guilty to avoid being charged
with at least three other cases of identity theft, says prosecutor
Ranee
Katzenstein.
Up to 20 years in jail
Still,
Thomspon-Snow, a notary public and paralegal, faces up
to 20 years in prison
and fines up to $ 1 million. She and the
victim attended the same college in
Arizona, and because of a
computer error, Thompson-Snow received loan
documents, including
a Social Security number, belonging to Valdosta State
University
English professor Theresa Mae Thompson.
In the Flores
case, there also was an arrest. Rosa Lopez, 29,
was arrested by Mt.
Pleasant, Texas, police and charged with tampering
with a government record
-- a mortgage form -- in connection with
Flores' case.
Lopez
pleaded guilty in February. She was sentenced to five years'
probation,
according to Titus County District Attorney Chuck Bailey.
Lopez also used
Flores' Social Security number to get a job, Flores
says. And Flores says
she has received letters from the Internal
Revenue Service about taxes owed
on the wages.
Lopez's lawyer did not return phone calls for comment.
Fleet Mortgage says it removed Flores' name from the mortgage
in
mid-February. But Flores says she is still waiting to have
her credit record
cleared by two credit agencies. As a result,
Flores says she and her fiance
have postponed their wedding until
February to make sure the record is clear
so they can buy a house.
"Some days this is just really hard to take," she
says.
Lingering effects
Marvin Young, 31, knows the
feeling. For seven years, Young --
a merchandise coordinator for a jewelry
retailer -- has been haunted
by someone using his identity on a
cross-country spending spree
resulting in more than $ 40,000 in debt.
Young learned of the identity thief when the Sacramento police
called him in 1991 saying they had a warrant for his arrest for
check
fraud.
Young believes the perpetrator is a former housemate, who
copied
information from his Mississippi driver's license.
Since
1991, Young has had to close more than 70 accounts, mostly
for credit cards,
opened in his name. In one month alone in 1997,
the imposter opened 40
accounts.
Anthony Maurice Phillips was arrested in 1997 in
Robbinsdale,
Minn., for credit card fraud involving Young's identity. He was
released on bail, and police believe he is now a fugitive, says
Detective Ron Engblom.
"This is the crime of the future,"
Engblom says. "With the
advent of the computer, and everybody having credit,
it's easy
to become somebody else. And it's easy to get away with it."
Today, Young carries police reports and credit agency documents
to confirm to stores and restaurants that he is really Marvin
Young.
"It's really hard," Young says. "Sometimes I feel like I can't
even go out because people will assume his crimes are my crimes."
Tips help keep identity your own
Some tips
for preventing identity theft from the Privacy Rights
Clearinghouse
(www.privacyrights.org):
1. Carry your Social Security card, birth
certificate or passport
only when you know you'll need them; don't carry
extra credit
cards.
2. Remove your name from the marketing lists
of credit reporting
bureaus Equifax, Experian and Trans Union by calling
1-888-567-8688.
Sign up for the Direct Marketing Association's Mail
Preference
Service (P.O. Box 9008, Farmingdale, N.Y. 11735) and the
Telephone
Preference Service (P.O. Box 9014, Farmingdale, N.Y. 11735) to
have your name deleted from marketers' customer lists. Have your
name
removed from phone books and reverse directories.
3. Install a
locked mailbox at your home to foil thieves, or rent
a post office box.
4. When ordering new checks, pick them up at the bank instead
of
having them sent to your home.
5. When you pay bills, don't leave
the envelopes in your mailbox
for the postal carrier to pick up. If stolen,
checks can be altered
and cashed.
6. Reduce the number of credit
cards you carry and use to a bare
minimum.
7. Keep a list of
your credit cards, account numbers, expiration
dates and telephone numbers
of customer service departments in
a safe place so you can find them quickly
if cards are stolen.
8. Never give your credit card number or other
personal information
over the phone unless you have a trusted business
relationship
with the company and you have placed the call.
9.
Order your credit report once a year from each of the three
credit bureaus
above to check for inaccuracies and fraudulent
use of your accounts.
10. Always take credit card receipts with you. Mutilate them before
tossing them in the trash at home.
11. Watch the mail when you
expect a new or reissued credit card.
Contact the issuer immediately if the
card doesn't arrive.
GRAPHIC: PHOTO, Color, Cindy
Brown, AP, for USA TODAY; PHOTO, B/W, Pico Van Houtryve for USA TODAY; Identity
theft victim: Yvonne Flores teaches her 10th-grade class in La Joya, Texas.
Still trying to recover identity: Marvin Young goes through paperwork at his
home in Oakland, Calif. He carries documents to prove his identity.
LOAD-DATE: April 06, 1999 
