IFSM 201
November 16, 2014
Identity Theft
The fastest growing financial crime is identity theft, it has affected 500,000-700,000 people in the United States. Identity theft occurs when people steal other people’s information and use the information to apply for credit cards and loans. The different types of information taken from victims can be: bank statements, copies of credit applications, lost or stolen credit cards, physician statements. Identity thieves will impersonate as representatives of government agencies, banks, and even internet service providers to collect social security number, passwords, mother’s maiden names, financial information, and other identifying information. Imposters will use different ways to acquire identity from victims through stealing wallets and purses which contain identification and bank cards. Also imposters will steal mail, which include those annoying preapproved credit offers, bank statements, tax information. Identity theft is serious as any major crimes it has caused people to commit suicide because of the stress and hardship that an individual endures. Identity theft can affect a person a week or even years of hardship and stress.
I personally was a victim of identity theft on 2006 resulting in months of hardship and stress. On June 18, 2006 my family and I took a vacation to Philippines for a month and left our house with my brother to look after. As we were enjoying our vacation within two weeks I received a call from my brother stating that the house flooded with sewer, the cause of the flooding is due to the roots from our tree that was in front of our house to break the sewer line which caused the sewage to spill out from the toilet. I immediately called my insurance company and explained the situation and verified that I was covered on my policy on sewage flooding which I felt a burden off my shoulder. After talking to my insurance company I immediately notified my brother on the situation with my insurance company. The insurance company assured me that everything would be taken care of and I had my brother act on my behalf with my insurance company. Luckily before I left for Philippines I made sure that my brother had a general power attorney in case anything like this would happen. After a few hours of discussion with my family we decided that I will be cutting my vacation time short and return to San Diego to attend to my house problems. I decided to take the next flight out and leave my family in the Philippines. I flew into San Diego the next morning and was picked up by my brother explaining the situation on the house and insurance company. The insurance company had already hired a moving company and flood specialist luckily which were the same people and company. We proceeded to the house and I notice that all my furniture and carpet were removed. The moving company had already setup dehumidifiers to dry out the inside of the house. I walked around the house to inspect but due to the temperature and smell inside it was overwhelming, we eventually left and I checked into a hotel that was nearby. As soon as I charged my cellphone I immediately notice a large amount of voicemail accumulating. I had received 9 voicemail from my bank. I listened to all the voicemail and my bank notified me that I had attempted to charge multiple times at one location and that I was being declined on using my credit cards until I called them. I immediately called my bank and explained that I was out of the country which I just got back today. I asked when and where were the charges being applied to, the bank replied Escondido area at a Chevron gas station on June 25, 2006 the day that I was leaving from Philippines, obviously it was not me applying the charges. I told the bank to stop all charges and decline all charges pending. The only thing that the bank can do was stop all charges and send me new a card. The bank representative transferred me to their credit card fraud department. The fraud department asked me a few questions and that they will investigate this matter. The fraud department also assured me that all the charges that I did not make would be cleared from my account. After talking to the bank I feel asleep and the next day I received another call from my bank notifying me if I was trying to purchase any janitorial equipment worth $4000.00 yesterday from a store using a check on my name. I replied to the bank representative that I have never used my checks and then I realized that my checks were in my safe box which were inside my house with all my important papers and credit cards. As soon I realized this I told the representative to transfer me to their fraud department about how my cards and checks were acquired by my movers which were the only ones that had access to my things. I gave the fraud department the mover’s information and my insurance company. The fraud department informed me that they will try and find the suspect or suspects. I contacted my insurance company and the owner of the moving company, informing them that my credit cards and checks were being used and that I would request to see my safe. I meet with owner of the moving company and he was apologetic as soon as we meet stating that he fired all the people that moved my furniture and belongings. The owner of the company stated that he tried to find the safe where my items were kept but could not find the safe. I showed the owner that it was on the inventory of items that were moved on the inspection. The owner of the moving company was furious not at me but his employees for stealing my safe which I explained that all my credit cards and checks and important documents were inside the safe and that it could be used to steal my identity because my important documents included my social security number and important information about me and my family. After the owner of the company confronted his employees