When Someone Steals Your Identity

As appearing in Parade Magazine, July 2003, by Robert Moritz Identity Theft-one of the nation’s fastest growing crimes-can ruin your finances and your reputation. Here’s how it happens and what you can do to protect yourself…. Although he didn’t know it, John Harrison’s nightmare began on July 27, 2001. That was the day that Jerry Wayne Phillips, 21-armed with Harrison’s Social Security number-fraudulently acquired a military photo ID and began a four-month spending rampage that left more than 60 bogus accounts and close to $260,000 worth of purchases in his victim’s name. ‘When they finally caught him, he had a truck trailer filled with more than $20,000 worth of stuff, including a military uniform with my name on it,” says Harrison, 42, a retired Army captain. Harrison is a casualty of one of the nation’s fastest-growing crimes: identity theft. Approximately one in every 50 consumers has been a victim of identity theft, which is now the No. 1 consumer complaint in the country, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Last year the agency received 162,000 identity-theft complaints (up from 86,000 in 2001) with an estimated total loss of $2 billion. “Given the percentage of growth, the reality is that most of us will become a victim of identity theft sometime in our lives, if not multiple times.” Says Linda Goldman-Foley, executive director of the Identity Theft Resource Center (www.idtheftcenter.org). The wake-up call. Harrison learned of his ordeal when he received a call at his Connecticut home one morning from the Beaumont, Tex., Sheriff’s Department. A man had been pulled over while riding a $26,000 Harley-Davidson. “The motorcycle had been reported stolen, and the rider showed the police a military ID with my name on it, ” recalls Harrison. “They ran my credit report and figured out what was going on. At the time, I didn’t know what identity theft was.” Harrison would soon find out that much more than a motorcycle was involved. Using Harrison’s IDs and good credit rating, Phillips had been able to open up new credit card, checking and utility accounts, then purchase two new pickups, mobile phones, clothing and more then $7,000 in home improvements. He rented an apartment as Harrison and even bought a vacation time-share. Phillips later pleaded guilty to fraud and was sentenced to 41 months in a federal prison. “We never figured out how he got my Social Security number,” says Harrison, “though I suspect it was from discarded or stolen military records.” At the sheriff’s suggestion, Harrison contacted the three major credit bureaus to place a fraud alert on his account and to order his credit reports. He also contacted the Federal Trade Commission, filed and official complaint affidavit and began calling each creditor to notify them of his situation. “I decided to be very proactive,” he says. “I figured, at worst, six months and I’d have this all settled.” Instead, it was the beginning of a two-year ordeal. An uphill battle. Despite the letter from the U.S. attorney stating his innocence and a copy of Phillips’ federal indictment, Harrison has struggled to clear his name. “I’ll spend 10 minutes explaining that I’m a victim of identity theft,” say Harrison of his daily battles with unremitting debt collectors. “then they’ll say, ‘OK, can you start paying some of this debt?’” Harrison’s personal credit also dried up as banks revoked his spending limits. And when his 15-year-old daughter got a summer job last year and needed his help to open her first savings account, they were turned away. “I can’t put a price tag on the humiliation I felt,” Harrison wrote in his victim-impact statement for Phillips’ indictment. Working for change For many victims, the emotional toll can be devastating. Earlier this year, Harrison was diagnosed with Post-traumatic stress disorder and began taking medication for anxiety and insomnia. “The first thing you generally do with a crime victim is get that person safe so they can begin healing,” says Harrison. “But for an identity-theft victim, there’s no place to run. Your telephone keeps ringing. When you pick up your mail, there will be a nasty letter from some debt collector. There is no peace.’ To help other victims cope, Harrison began volunteering as a phone counselor for the Identity Theft Center. He also has been active on the legislative front, testifying before the Conn. Legislature and the postal inspectors’ conference briefing for state attorneys general, FBI agents and the Secret Service. “Our first line of defense is the business community,” says Linda Goldman-Foley of the ITRC. “The idea is to limit the amount of information that is required from an individual.” Congress has a variety of initiatives under way to expand the 1998 law that made it a federal crime to use another person’s identification. Currently pending is a bill to simplify the credit-clearing process and extend the statute of limitations for reporting crimes. Also pending is a bill to increase penalties and grant a free annual credit report to all consumers. Meanwhile, Jerry Wayne-Phillips sits out the remainder of his sentence in prison, and John Harrison continues to try to clear his name. “People need to check their credit reports, lock their mailbox, guard their Social Security number and be vigilant,” Harrison advises. “Ultimately, there’s no way to completely prevent someone from doing this, but you can reduce your chances of becoming a victim.”