- The Do's and Don'ts of Infidelity
- Expectations of an Infidelity Investigation
- Home Improvement Fraud
- Identity Theft
- Seller Be Ware
- Signs of a Cheating Spouse
- Felons on the Payroll
David L. Basham
A young female student attending a University here in Georgia decided that she did not like living in the dormitory, and moved to an apartment off campus. She ordered new checks from her bank, reflecting her new address, and her Georgia Drivers License number. Her campus mailing address, and Georgia Drivers License number were on the checks she was using at the time of her move. Unfortunately, her Georgia Drivers license number is also her Social Security Number.
Sometime after her move, she decided to clean up her personal papers, etc. and threw away several old receipts, letters, bank statements, and some unused blank checks with the campus mailing address. Persons unknown retrieved the blank checks out of the trash, and began cashing forged checks at various stores in the metro area.
A few months later, using the information from the checks, and possibly other documents obtained from the trash, persons unknown began opening up cell phone accounts in this young lady’s name. Cell phone bills as large as $ 3,000.00 and $ 4,000.00 were accrued, and placed into collection. Sadly, the Collection Agencies were trying to collect from the young lady.
This young lady is one of the victims of a relatively new type of fraudulent activity that is called 'identity theft'.
Based upon sound advice, the young lady did several things to protect herself. This checklist is a good beginning for anyone who becomes a victim of this new trend in fraudulent criminal activity, that is literally sweeping the nation.
She closed the bank account upon which the forged checks had been drawn. She made sure that her Social Security Number was not printed on the new checks, from the new account. She notified all three of the major Credit Bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and Trans Union). She filed a police report detailing what occurred. As each incident of theft occurred she sent letters to the Collection Agency and the Cell Phone company, explaining the situation.
The good news is that she has not suffered any serious economic loss. The bad news is that she must continue to grapple with a situation that has consumed a huge portion of her life.