WILMINGTON -- Identity theft is spreading across the country and can happen any time, anywhere and to anyone.
One Wilmington woman was a victim of this growing problem.
Nineteen-year-old Julie Ponteri is trying to pay her own way through Cape Fear Community College. Paying bills can be tough and things just got even more difficult.
Ponteri said, "He used my social security number and took out a loan for about $950 and did not pay for it."
She quickly figured out that her father was the culprit. But as police tracked him down, she was left to clean up the mess.
Julie is temporarily ineligible for credit cards and is in the process of changing her social security number.
Ponteri said, "It's been a very large hassle. Everyday I've had to call people constantly, so I've dialed all 1-800 numbers and gone from one person to the next."
Ponteri is not alone. According to the Federal Trade Commission there were over 5,000 identity theft victims in North Carolina last year. Thirty percent of those victims were between 18 and 29 years old.
Private investigator Bill Ratcliff handles cases of identity fraud. He says he's seen cases like Ponteri's where one family member robs another. He says it's very important for victims to protect themselves before going after the thief.
Ratcliff said, "You want to stop it. That's the main thing is to stop it. And get your identity back, to get everything back to you."
Ponteri says her father hasn't been caught yet. She's confident her problems will be solved eventually.
In the meantime, she says she's learned a valuable lesson.
"I never thought this would happen to me. And it did and it could happen to anyone. And it's hard and it's an everyday problem, you know. Anyone can do it."
Ponteri says she now keeps her personal information under lock and key and is extra careful with all her personal documents.
Foxes watching the henhouse?
I can lock my house, yet I am not allowed to lock up my most important asset (credit files) from perfect strangers? YIKES.
WHY are the data brokers allowed to sell MY information to STRANGERS without MY permission. Why isn't anyone seeing that THEY are the reason for this epidemic crime? If every citizen in this country were able to freeze their credit files, then business's would NOT grant credit to strangers without more verification that they are granting it to the RIGHTFUL OWNER. If the data brokers want to be able to sell MY INFORMATION, they should be equally willing to clean up the MESS that results when they screw up and sell it to the WRONG PERSON(S). MAKE THE DATA BROKERS ACCOUNTABLE.
Security freezes stop identity thieves cold
June 28, 2007
Growing concerns about identity theft have spurred state lawmakers across the country to look for new ways to safeguard consumers from this insidious form of fraud.
Because of this, most Americans now have a new tool that provides powerful protection to stop thieves from ruining their credit records.
Every day, about 27,000 Americans are the victims of identity theft, according to the Federal Trade Commission. In about a third of those crimes, crooks use the information to open new accounts in their victims' names.
Armed with just your name and Social Security number, a thief can open fraudulent accounts and start charging away, leaving you with a damaged credit record that might take years to repair.
But the landscape is improving with security freezes, a safeguard promoted by Consumers Union (the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports) and other consumer groups that has been adopted in 37 states and the District of Columbia. A freeze essentially locks up the information needed to conduct a credit check, and creditors won't open new accounts without that check. An imposter will be foiled, but you can lift the freeze using a PIN if you want to open new accounts.
A security freeze provides much stronger protection than the fraud alert currently available under federal law.
An alert placed on a credit file amounts to a caution flag that is supposed to trigger added scrutiny by creditors. But it doesn't stop potential creditors from getting a credit report or credit score.
A security freeze prevents thieves from opening new accounts and hurting your credit.
Thirty-three of the states that have security-freeze laws make this safeguard available to everyone, regardless of whether a person has been a victim of identity theft. Most states that offer a security freeze make it free to identity-theft victims, and some provide it at no charge to seniors.
For those consumers who want the freeze but aren't victims of identity theft, most state security-freeze laws allow each of the three major credit bureaus to charge $5 to $10 to initiate the protection or to lift the freeze. The best state laws keep all fees at $5 or less and allow consumers to temporarily lift or remove the freeze without charge.
Under the radar
If you haven't heard about security freezes, it's not surprising. Credit bureaus aren't eager to spread the word because they have a financial incentive to make it easy for potential creditors to check credit reports. Credit bureaus also make big bucks from selling to consumers more expensive credit-monitoring services, which are unnecessary, especially when a security freeze is in place. Consumers Union has asked the Federal Trade Commission to help inform consumers about security freezes.
States with the user-friendliest laws allow consumers to request this protection by e-mail or by phone, and will require credit bureaus to lift the freeze within 15 minutes of a request. To find out whether your state offers security-freeze protection and how it works, go to: www.ConsumersUnion.org/ SecurityFreeze.htm.
Visit the Consumer Reports Web site at www.consumerreports.org.
Man targets daughter in Identity Theft Case
What kind of scumbag would do this to his own daughter? I couldn't do this to a stranger much less my own flesh and blood. What trash, poor girl. :(
Companies Issuing the Credit should be Liable for the Debt.
I admit that it is a "growing" problem--identity theft. However, the Companies issuing credit to "individuals" should not be let off the hook because they issued credit to an actual person who did NOT apply for credit. If a company issues credit to an individual who uses someone else's identity to obtain a loan, the company should not be able to collect the funds from the person whose identity was stolen.
If companies could not easily collect these fees, the application process for getting these loans would require picture identification, verification via the Social Security Department, or other departments. Multiple checks on identity would likely lower the incident of identity theft.
How about a solution?
Poor Girl...
while I know Ms. Ponteri, and part of me feels like this couldn't happen to a more deserving person, it does suck that someone could do that to their own child. Sorry to hear that for you J.