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Credit fraud victim
tells of troubles

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By Rod Ohira
Star-Bulletin

Days had passed before a Pauoa Valley woman discovered that burglars had stolen her birth certificate.

By then, the birth certificate had been used to obtain a Hawaii driver's license, which was used to opened seven credit card accounts -- and charges have been racking up since Nov. 12.

"It's an ongoing thing, and I now dread going home and seeing phone messages," said Jean, who requested she be identified only by her first name. "This has been very hard; I'm under doctor's care now."

There was no hint her home had been burglarized, Jean said. Her birth certificate, which was in a folder with other personal papers, apparently was the only thing stolen. "I didn't know it was missing until Nov. 10 when I received a bill from (a department store) for $7,000," she said. "I just flipped when I saw it."

Jean is a victim of "stolen identity," a fast-growing crime in the United States. The U.S. General Accounting Office reported that the Secret Service made 10,066 financial-crime arrests in 1999 and 94 percent of them involved identity fraud totaling $745 million.

"Stolen identity is becoming a bigger and bigger problem every day," said Det. Letha DeCaires, the Honolulu Police Department's CrimeStoppers coordinator.

"It's doomed to be one of the most difficult crimes of the new millennium to deal with. It's just a nightmare to get it resolved, and some people may never get their credit history straightened out."

Jean has spent 20 minutes to an hour on the telephone contacting 20-25 companies that have billed her for charges she never made.

"You wait on the line and then have to explain everything. The stress is horrible," she said. "Yesterday, I got a call from a bank telling me that a checking account opened in my name had insufficient funds. To me, the person who is doing this has no conscience and has no regard for what it's doing to my life."

Jean, who is keeping detailed accounts of what is occurring, has been advised by financial institutions that she is not responsible for the fraudulent charges.

The detective recalls that earlier this year, thieves stole a federal agent's identity after his wallet fell out in his car.

"They broke into his car at a mall," DeCaires said.

"The suspects have charged thousands of dollars on both his government and personal credit cards."

DeCaires offers the following tips to guard against identity theft:

Store personal papers in a safe or safety deposit box.

Invest in a document shredder and shred all financial statements, old bills, receipts and pre-approved credit card applications.

Never give your Social Security number on the phone unless you initiated the call.

Carry a minimal amount of credit cards in your wallet.

Watch for your credit card statement in the mail and contact the company if it's not on time.

If mail delivery is sporadic or stops altogether, contact the post office to see if a change of address form was sent in.

Scrutinize your monthly credit card and bank statements and immediately report unauthorized activity.

Be vigilant, do not give anyone more information than the person needs.

Check it out Contacts for credit reports: Credit Bureau of the Pacific, 1616 Liliha St., Room 101. Telephone: 533-7197 or 1-800-797-9552. Equifax Credit Reporting Agency, P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, Ga., 30374-0241. Telephone: (800) 685-1111. Experian Credit Reporting Agency (formerly TRW), P.O. Box 2104, Allen, Tex., 75013. Telephone: (888) 397-3742. Trans Union Credit Reporting Agency, P.O. Box 390, Springfield, Pa., 19064. Telephone: (800) 888-4213.