Identity Theft Hits Home for Rebuilder By Traci Matt Associate Editor The envelope looked like any of the other credit card solicitations we tire of dragging from our mailboxes to our garbage cans each day. Fortunately for rebuilder Bob Thomas, owner of B&H Electric in Orange Park, Fla., this one didn’t go straight in the trash. Unfortun- ately, it sat on his desk for over a week before he noticed it on February 20. The letter was from lender HSBC (which is incidentally the U.S. bank with most identity theft incidents per billions of dollars of deposits) and asked that he “call about his account.” Problem was, he had no account with HSBC. “Someone had used my name, social security number, and date of birth and opened an account using an address in Tupelo, Mississippi,” Thomas said. After only a couple of weeks the criminal had almost managed to max out the bogus $16,000 credit line. “After the first 30 minute phone call, I was up all night checking credit reports and finding alternate phone numbers and other lines of credit that had been opened. I called the police the next day. I went to the FTC Web site and did every- thing they told me to do. I was feeling pretty good,” he said. Thomas could not have imagined that over the next 60 days he would spend more than 100 hours on the phone and take an infuriating emotional roller coaster ride. Although he has no idea how his information was compromised, he was likely a victim of an organized ring of identity thieves. “Anyone with good credit is a candidate to become a victim,’ Thomas said. “Identity thieves work in groups. They are very clever, well-organized, good with computers and move often across state lines. Once they have your name, social security number and date of birth, they will check your credit. If your credit is bad, they’ll go on to the next name on their list. If it is good, they will begin to milk your identity for every cent they can.” Ironically enough, identity theft wasn’t even a federal crime until 10 years ago when the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act was passed. In 2004, the Identity Theft Penalty Enhancement Act established the federal offense of aggra- vated identity theft, seeking to give pros- ecutors more tools to put offenders behind bars. Unfortunately the resources to appre- hend and prosecute have not followed through. According to the non-profit Identity Theft Resource Center, the Justice Department charged a paltry 226 defendants with aggravated identity theft in 2005; even the FBI and postal inspec- tors opened just under 3,000 identity theft related cases the same year. The independent research group Javelin Strategy & Research reported there were 9.3 million U.S. adult victims of identity fraud in 2005. Some experts argue that number is too low. Estimates for victims in 2007 range from 8 to 15 million, depending on the source you’re using. “Although there are good federal and state laws against using another person’s identity to commit fraud, there is little to no law enforcement,” said Thomas. The FBI says identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the U.S., yet Thomas’s conversations with federal and state law enforcement agents made it clear there were limited resources avail- able to track down and prosecute these criminals. Thomas said that although he had the address of the culprit, he learned police cannot make an arrest without a name. At that point, when the feelings of helpless- ness and anger were beginning to take their toll on Thomas, he was fortunate enough to get connected to a wise Georgia judge who changed his attitude. “She spent about 45 minutes on the phone with me and told me I had to pro- tect myself. She said put it behind you and forget about it,’ he said. “But it’s hard not to take it personally.” Thomas recommends that if you are defrauded by identity theft, you must quickly learn to advocate for yourself. Keep good records of everything you do and what facts you uncover along the way. These are crucial points to consider in the first 24 hours: ¢ Get a copy of your credit report from one of the three consumer credit report- ing companies: Equifax, Experian or TransUnion. It will contain many clues as to what has been going on and for how long. Read everything in the report — twice. ¢ Look for suspicious inquiries; recent inquiries from the other reporting agencies; and addresses and phone numbers that are not yours. e Place a 90-day fraud alert on your credit report. This entitles you to How Much Do You Know About —_ N w Dp N o 10. Identity Theft? . The best way to get a free copy of your credit report is to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. . Peer to Peer/ File Sharing soft- ware could be used to steal your identity over the Internet. . It’s not necessary to file a police report when you have been victimized by identity theft. . The emotional impact of identity theft has been found to parallel that of victims of violent crime. . Identity thieves are likely to get c