That very pretty girl this morning came across a story about how a 32-year-old mother of two from Uniontown PA used her children's (aged 7 and 2) identities to open up at least 25 credit card accounts. She didn't stop with her children's identities, she also used her father's personal information and identity to get credit cards.
Tina Price was arrested and charged with felony identity theft, credit card fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud and faces possible bank fraud charges. Bench warrants for her arrest were issued for Felony ID Theft and writing useless checks.
What tripped the investigation? When Ms. Price's father was billed for a computer he never purchased.
That very pretty girls' own Mommy is a bit familiar with the aforesaid because she has been a victim of ID theft (personal and financial) three times. Having a common last name doesn't help matters either.
Can you do something to prevent this? Sure, you can contact each credit reporting agency (Equifax, Experian and Trans Union) and alert each CRA that if anyone applies for credit in your minor child's name, they will notify you by mail or email. Older (and elderly) parents of adult children need to be on guard for ID theft and financial fraud. There are many credit monitoring services on the market. The monthly fees range from $9.95 to $59.95 per month. Nothing is 100% fool-proof, so it pays to set up alerts yourself and keep a close watchful eye on your credit reports and other personal information.
The Social Security Administration is currently working on a program to allow the public to receive alerts if their social security number is being used for illegal purposes. I hope they perfect and put this valuable program in place in the near future.
It pays to be on your toes and on guard.
Copyright, 2009, by Peeper Talk. All rights reserved.
0 comments:
Post a Comment