Sue Ellen Ross – The Southern Yankee

Recently, I have been reading stories and hearing news reports about scammers and crooks stealing peoples’ identities. Some of the scenarios are shocking and scary, and all are very, very frustrating.

Two incidences occurred in my family regarding this horrendous problem – to myself and my sister.

For a Christmas present one year, I decided to assist my daughter in connecting telephone service at her new home. At the time, she lived in Hammond, Ind., and I lived in Indianapolis, Ind., – 200 miles away from each other.

When I called the telephone company in Hammond to make arrangements, they told me that I couldn’t hook up new service until I paid the $400 I owed them.

Before moving from Hammond to Indy, which was two years prior, I cleared up all my bills. I know I didn’t owe them anything, I had been working and living away from northwest Indiana for a long time.

The phone company said that a person named S. Ross (using my social security number) had opened a new telephone account while I was living in central Indiana. And that person skipped town, leaving the $400 bill.

If I hadn’t called the phone company at this particular time (thank goodness for positive coincidences,) it would have shown up on my credit report, since they were getting ready to send the bill to a collections agency.

And I would have been in the dark the whole time.

After talking with telephone supervisors, district managers, etc. I still had no concrete answer as to who this S. Ross was and what type of ID she offered them with my social security number on it.

Long story short, I had to send copies of my driver’s license, Social Security card, work paycheck stubs, apartment lease, letters from my husband AND work boss to show the phone company that I did not live in northwest Indiana, did not apply for, nor was using, the phone service they said I was.

Eventually, I was off the hook, but not before months of frustration.

My sister was not so lucky.

She received a phone call one day from a department story in Ohio. It seems an account bearing her name, social security number, and other pertinent personal information, was fraudently opened and the balance was quite high.

When she sent for a copy of her credit report, she was shocked to find many more fraudently-opened charge accounts. There were approximately 15 of them, all with high balances.

Finding out who was behind all the deception was frustration in itself. As with my scenario, she never did find out who used her personal information and where they got it from.

And with my sister’s predicament, it was impossible with so many credit cards. She called authorities on many ends, and sent letters to all the creditors explaining the situation.

She is still dealing with clearing it all up, many years later.

Believe the stories that you read about identity theft. Some may sound far-fetched, but, believe me, they are out there and you never know who will be the next victim.

Many articles you read tell you how to prevent theft identity. You will be hard-pressed to find one that tells you how to get through all the muck so you credit report is clear. To my understanding, the only person that can take a negative report off your credit report is the one that put it there.

Which means, you are on your own, as my sister and I were, when it came to our experiences with theft identity.

Getting a copy of your credit report on a regular basis is one way to see if you have been a victim. It is well worth the small charge.

Toll-free numbers to order your credit report are: Experian at 1-888-397 3742; Trans Union at 1-800-888-4213; or Equifax at , 1-800-997-2493.

Sue Ellen Ross is a staff writer for the L’Observateur and can reached at lobnews@bellsouth.net