Identity Theft Stories You Can Learn From!

People demanded that the government give us added protection with some identity theft laws.

In October 1998, Congress enacted The Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act, making identity theft a federal crime.

Go to cases of identity theft for more examples.

Identity Theft Stories

More Protection For Illegal Immigrant Workers

Just in….May 5, 2009….A favorite tool used in immigration cases by prosecutors was rejected by the Supreme Court today.

• They unanimously ruled that a federal identity-theft law may not be used against many illegal workers who used false Social Security numbers to get jobs.

• It came down to a question of whether illegal workers who used false id numbers were using them to commit other crimes knowing the ID number belonged to a real person.

  If this were the case, they would be subject to an extension in the sentence of 2-years for “aggravated identity theft.”

• The threat of punishment was used for years by prosecutors to persuade illegal workers to give a guilty plea to the lesser charge of document fraud.

• Basic ideals of fairness are preserved for some vulnerable workers in society. If a Social Security number is used by an immigrant to secure employment and he doesn’t intend to harm anyone, the court feels it is a waste to imprison them for two years and spend our tax dollars.

• Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. said, “If it turns out that the number belongs to a real person two years will be added to the defendant’s sentence; but if the defendant is lucky and the ID number does not belong to another person, the statute is not violated.”

Iowa had the most sweeping use of this particular statute. In May of 2008 at a meatpacking plant in Postville, there was an immigration raid of almost 300 unauthorized immigrant workers.

Most pleaded guilty to charges of document fraud because they didn’t want to risk conviction at a trial of identity theft charges.

Prosecutors, in most cases, showed only that the Social Security numbers and documentation produced by the immigrants were false.

Numerous immigrants served prison sentences of five months and were then deported. Read more identity theft stories and scams at identity theft scams.

Identity Theft Stories - Daughter Steals Her Mother’s Identity

Years ago I knew a woman (I’ll call her Ruth) that had a daughter, (I’ll call her Jane), that stole her mother’s identity. Jane had access to Ruth’s social security number and over the phone opened a charge account in Ruth’s name. Also, over the phone they gave Jane a credit limit of $4000.00.

• Jane was never asked to verify her identity with any further information other than her mother’s Social Security number.

Identity theft at that time had not become as prevalent as it is today, so I guess the credit card company never thought someone else might have access to a person’s Social Security number.

• Jane had the bill sent to HERSELF, at her own address, so the mother would never see the bill or become the wiser.

• Ruth would probably never have found out the daughter had stolen her identity and fraudulently opened an account in her name, except for the fact, that Ruth tried to open an account for herself and found out she was denied because of the account her daughter opened, using her name.

• Jane paid the first couple of payments but kept charging until she was close to the $4000.00 limit and then stopped paying on the bill.

• This was about the same time Ruth found out what her daughter had done. My friend called the credit bureau and told them what happened.

• The credit bureau put pressure on Ruth to pay the bill and said she owed the money no matter who opened the account. At this point, my friend was so distraught she called me to tell what happened and that the credit card company was putting pressure on her.

This happened many years before I started my website on identity theft, but was one of the main reasons I decided to start my site on this horrendous crime.

These types of identity theft stories are heartbreaking. It's beyond me to understand family that steals from family.

I saw how utterly disappointed and angry Ruth was with her daughter and how scared she was about the situation and the pressure the credit company was putting on her.

At the time my friend Ruth had some estate legal issues she was taking care of and did have an attorney.

• I told my friend I didn’t think she would be responsible to pay the outstanding balance for an account that had been opened fraudulently, even if it was her daughter that committed the crime, and to double check with her attorney to see where she stood.

• The attorney said she was not responsible for this account and told her to repeat what he said to the credit card company. The company backed off quickly after finding she had legal council.

Unfortunately, back then, my friend did not turn her daughter in to the police or fill out a police report; however, she did find out she could call the credit bureaus and put a freeze on her files. To learn more about this go to credit freeze.

Thank goodness we now have more identity theft laws and penalties for people that commit this type of crime, although it's still difficult to find and prosecute the criminal, people are becoming more aware about identity theft and the ways this occurs.

To learn more ways how identity theft happens, see ways to prevent identity theft.

Knowledge is power and, when you have knowledge, it will be much harder for you to find yourself a victim of this horrible crime.

There are many identity theft stories that show numerous ways you need to be aware of so you can stop identity theft from happening to you.

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